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Gene Discovery May Offer Breakthrough for Rare Leukemia
Posted 13 days ago by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, May 9 – In the war against cancer, it looks like matchmaking – between genes and drugs – could be an important tool, according to new research into the genetic underpinnings of two rare forms of leukemia. By matching a patient's genetic mutation responsible for a rare, rapidly progressing form of leukemia with a drug that specifically targets the problem the mutation creates, researchers report that one patient is experiencing fast, marked improvement. The new findings shed light on how many forms of cancer may be tackled in the near future. Scientists are discovering how to differentiate between mutations that are driving the proliferation of cancer cells and those that are merely passengers in the process. "If your car breaks down, you have to open up the hood to see what part has broken," said study author Jeffrey Tyner, an assistant professor at the Knight Cancer ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
Soaring Prices Keep Leukemia Drugs From Patients, Experts Say
Posted 25 Apr 2013 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, April 25 – Pricey cancer medications prevent many Americans with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) from receiving lifesaving treatment, an international team of experts claims. These drugs can cost more than $100,000 a year for patients with CML, once considered a death sentence but now highly treatable with ongoing treatment, according to a commentary penned by 120 specialists in more than 15 countries and published online April 25 in the journal Blood. "Patients with CML have a much better outlook today than ever before, thanks to advances that have greatly improved survival rates. But these patients now face dire financial struggles as they try to maintain their treatment regimen with the drastically inflating cost of care," corresponding author Dr. Hagop Kantarjian, chairman of the leukemia department at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, said in a ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Gleevec, Sprycel, Imatinib, Dasatinib, Bosulif, Omacetaxine, Synribo, Bosutinib
Leukemia Patients Get Treatment Boost From Donors' Immune Cells
Posted 27 Feb 2013 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 27 – Researchers say they've found a way to tweak and strengthen immune cells to maximize their leukemia-fighting capability while minimizing their toxic effects on the patient. The chemotherapy that leukemia patients typically receive to kill cancer cells can also destroy the body's ability to produce new blood cells, the U.S. researchers explained. And while bone marrow transplants can restore the body's ability to produce blood cells, that procedure is also a double-edged sword: If the donor is not perfectly matched, the new donor cells can attack the patient, resulting in potentially life-threatening graft-versus-host disease. Given the limitations of these two standard treatments, "researchers have long sought ways to maximize the anti-leukemic response in these [bone marrow] transplants while minimizing the risk to host tissues," explained David Wiest, deputy ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia
FDA Approves Gleevec for Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Posted 25 Jan 2013 by Drugs.com
January 25, 2013 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved a new use of Gleevec (imatinib) to treat children newly diagnosed with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is the most common type of pediatric cancer, affecting approximately 2,900 children annually, and progresses quickly if untreated. Children with Ph+ ALL have a genetic abnormality that causes proteins called tyrosine kinases to stimulate the bone marrow to make too many immature white blood cells. This leaves less room for healthy white blood cells needed to fight infection. Gleevec, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, blocks the proteins that promote the development of cancerous cells. It should be used in combination with chemotherapy to treat children with Ph+ ALL. “We are pleased that the number of cancer medications for children are on the rise,” said Richard Pazdur, ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Gleevec, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Imatinib
FDA Approves Iclusig to Treat Two Rare Types of Leukemia
Posted 17 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com
December 14, 2012 - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Iclusig (ponatinib) to treat adults with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL), two rare blood and bone marrow diseases. Iclusig is being approved more than three months ahead of the product’s prescription user fee goal date of March 27, 2013, the date the agency was scheduled to complete review of the drug application. The FDA reviewed the Iclusig drug application under the agency’s priority review program, which provides for an expedited six-month review for drugs that may provide safe and effective therapy when no satisfactory alternative therapy exists, or offer significant improvement compared to marketed products. Iclusig blocks certain proteins that promote the development of cancerous cells. The drug is taken once a day to treat patients ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Blood Cancer Patients May Benefit From New Transplant Technique
Posted 12 Dec 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Dec. 12 – Researchers who have multiplied umbilical cord-blood cells in the laboratory say their technique might improve recovery for patients needing blood stem cell transplants to treat a blood cancer. Their approach, still in the experimental stage, involves expanding normal blood cells from donated cord blood in conditions similar to those in bone marrow. This greatly enlarges the supply needed for transplant. And because umbilical cord blood is more easily matched in patients than donor bone marrow, the recovery period is safer and shorter, the researchers said. "Since our very first patients, we had a very strong signal [of success]," said Dr. Marcos de Lima, who led the study while at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. "Recipients of cord-blood transplants are less likely to have some of the complications with the same degree of matching ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma
Study Sees Link Between Prolonged Formula Feeding, Leukemia Risk
Posted 17 Oct 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, Oct. 17 – When the introduction to solid foods is delayed and babies are fed formula for a prolonged period of time, it may place them at increased risk for pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), a new study suggests. But the study, which is considered preliminary, only found an association between prolonged bottle feeding and ALL; it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, ALL is a fast-growing cancer of white blood cells called lymphocytes. It is also the most common acute childhood leukemia, typically affecting children between the ages of 3 and 7. In the new study, researchers from the University of Texas at Austin found that children's risk for this cancer seemed to increase the longer they were fed formula and not solid foods. They said the benefits that breast milk has on babies' developing immune ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
FDA Approves Bosulif for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia
Posted 4 Sep 2012 by Drugs.com
September 4, 2012 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Bosulif (bosutinib) to treat chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a blood and bone marrow disease that usually affects older adults. An estimated 5,430 men and women will be diagnosed with CML in 2012. Most people with CML have a genetic mutation, called the Philadelphia chromosome, which causes the bone marrow to make an enzyme called tyrosine kinase. This enzyme triggers the development of too many abnormal and unhealthy white blood cells called granulocytes. Granulocytes fight infection. Bosulif is intended for patients with chronic, accelerated or blast phase Philadelphia chromosome positive CML who are resistant to or who cannot tolerate other therapies, including imatinib. Bosulif works by blocking the signal of the tyrosine kinase that promotes the development of abnormal and unhealthy granulocytes. “With ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML)
FDA Approves Marqibo for Philadelphia Chromosome Negative Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Posted 9 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
August 9, 2012 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Marqibo (vincristine sulfate liposome injection) to treat adults with a rare type of leukemia called Philadelphia chromosome negative (Ph-) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). ALL is a rapidly progressing form of blood and bone marrow cancer that is more commonly diagnosed in children than adults. According to the National Cancer Institute, an estimated 6,050 men and women will be diagnosed with ALL and 1,440 will die from the disease this year. Marqibo is approved for patients whose leukemia has returned (relapsed) two or more times, or whose leukemia has progressed following two or more regimens of anti-leukemia therapy. Marqibo contains vincristine, a commonly used anti-cancer drug, encased within a liposome, a drug delivery vehicle composed of material similar to that of cell membranes. It is an injection ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Vincristine
Marqibo Approved for Rare Leukemia
Posted 9 Aug 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Aug. 9 – Marqibo (vincristine sulfate liposome injection) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat adults with a rare form of blood and bone marrow cancer, Philadelphia chromosome negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia, abbreviated ALL. The drug is sanctioned for people whose disease has progressed, despite use of at least two anti-leukemia regimens. ALL is most-often diagnosed in children. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 6,050 people will be diagnosed this year with the disease, and 1,440 will die from it, the FDA said Thursday in a news release. Marqibo was approved as an orphan drug, designed to treat a rare disease or condition. The drug was evaluated in a clinical trial of adults whose disease had relapsed at least twice, despite standard anti-leukemia treatments. The most common side effects reported were constipation, nausea, low ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Vincristine
Child CT Scans Might Up Risk of Brain Cancer, Leukemia
Posted 7 Jun 2012 by Drugs.com
WEDNESDAY, June 6 – Children who undergo CT scans of the head may raise their risk of developing brain cancer or leukemia later in life, a new study says. Although multiple CT scans could triple the risk, the absolute risk remains small – one case in 10,000 scans of the head, the researchers said. "We have shown small increased risks associated with the radiation exposures from CT," said study co-author Louise Parker, from the Canadian Cancer Society and a professor of medicine and pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. "As long as CT is used only where justified, then the benefits of CT, a potentially lifesaving modality, will almost certainly outweigh the risks," she said. Lead study author Amy Berrington de Gonzalez, from the U.S. National Cancer Institute, said this study is the first to look at the actual cancer risk of radiation from CT scans. "All the ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Brain Tumor, Diagnosis and Investigation
Childhood Leukemia Survival Rates Reach 90 Percent
Posted 12 Mar 2012 by Drugs.com
MONDAY, March 12 – Children with the most common type of leukemia now have a dramatically better chance of survival, a new study shows. The researchers found five-year survival rates among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) increased from about 84 percent to 90 percent from 1990 to 2005. Surviving for five years is considered a cure because so few deaths occur past that timeframe. "We're talking about a disease that was incurable 50 years ago," said study author Dr. Stephen Hunger. "Now we see a 90 percent cure rate. That's pretty remarkable." The study is published in the March 12 online issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Hunger, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders at Children's Hospital Colorado, said the clinical trials have helped doctors refine their use and ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
DNA Damage From Chemo May Help Spur Leukemia's Return
Posted 12 Jan 2012 by Drugs.com
THURSDAY, Jan. 12 – The chemotherapy used to treat a form of adult leukemia sets a trap that can result in the return of the disease within years, a new study suggests. The finding confirms the suspicions of specialists who thought chemotherapy drugs could disrupt DNA through mutations and ultimately allow tumor cells to avoid the effects of the medications. "Chemotherapy drugs are absolutely necessary to get leukemia patients into remission, but we also pay a price in terms of DNA damage," study co-author Dr. Timothy Ley, a professor of oncology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in a university news release. These drugs "may contribute to disease progression and relapse in many different cancers, which is why our long-term goal is to find targeted therapies based on the mutations specific to a patient's cancer, rather than use drugs that further damage ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia
FDA Approves Erwinaze to Treat Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Posted 18 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
November 18, 2011 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved Erwinaze (asparaginase Erwinia chrysanthemi) to treat patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), who have developed an allergy (hypersensitivity) to E. coli derived asparaginase and pegapargase chemotherapy drugs used to treat ALL. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a type of cancer in which the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell. White blood cells help the body fight infection and are formed in the bone marrow. Erwinaze is injected directly into the muscle three times a week and works by breaking down one of the body’s protein building blocks (the amino acid, asparagine) that is present in the blood, and is necessary for the growth of all cells. Leukemia cells cannot produce this protein building block. When a patient is treated with Erwinaze the leukemia cells die. Normal h ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia (ALL)
'Mini' Stem Cell Transplant May Help Seniors With Blood Cancer
Posted 1 Nov 2011 by Drugs.com
TUESDAY, Nov. 1 – Age in itself should not be a factor in deciding whether blood cancer patients are candidates for stem cell transplantation, according to a new study. Blood cancers include leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. For the study, researchers analyzed long-term outcomes among 372 blood cancer patients aged 60 to 75 who underwent a "mini-transplant," which is a "kinder, gentler" form of allogeneic (cells from another person) stem cell transplantation developed at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. The five-year rates of overall survival and disease progression-free survival among the patients were 35 percent and 32 percent, respectively. Comparable survival rates were seen when the patients were divided into three age groups – 60 to 64, 65 to 69, and 70 to 75 – suggesting that age plays a limited role in the success of the mini-transplant. While a survival ... Read more
Related support groups: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Multiple Myeloma
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Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia, Acute Myeloid Leukemia, Acute Nonlymphocytic Leukemia, Hairy Cell Leukemia, Meningeal Leukemia, Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia, Chronic Eosinophilic Leukemia, Blood Disorders
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