Inclusion Criteria

Inclusion criteria:

- Histologically confirmed prostate carcinoma, which has proven progression after
primary hormone therapy (surgical or medicinal castration).

- Patients must have increasing PSA levels (within 3 months prior to enrollment) with
at least two consecutively increasing PSA levels.

- PSA value before inclusion must be at least 5 ng/ml

- At least 18 years of age.

- At least capable of self care and up of at least 50% of waking hours (ECOG
performance status 0 - 2), adequate bone marrow function and lab results.

Exclusion criteria:

- Change of hormone therapy within 6 weeks prior inclusion

- Prior chemotherapy

- Therapy with Imatinib, or therapy with other inhibitors of tyrosinkinase.

- Second neoplasm diagnosed within 5 years before study start.

- Patients who require therapy with warfarin

- Known diagnosis of HIV, hepatitis B, or hepatitis C infection.

- Severe, unstable, or uncontrolled medical disease which would confound diagnoses or
evaluations required by the protocol, including severe cardiac insufficiency

- Surgical therapy within 4 weeks before inclusion.

- Prior therapy with isotopes strontium or rhenium.

- Radiation therapy to > 25% of bone marrow within 4 weeks before inclusion.

- Treatment with other experimental substances within 30 days before study start.

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply