Certain patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who take nilotinib daily may have achieved such deep remissions that they may be able to stop their treatment, according to a recent FDA decision When the targeted oral therapy, imatinib (Gleevec®) was approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in 2001, it revolutionized treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), turning an almost certain death sentence into a chronic disease for most patients who r...
We’ve just concluded one of the most historic years on record in terms of new therapy approvals for blood cancers. In all, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved 18 therapies to treat patients with blood cancers, including some entirely new agents and some new uses for already approved drugs. Among these approvals were the first new therapies – four to be precise – for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after a 40-year drought in treatment advances for this deadly blood c...
This week, positive data from a Kite Pharma CAR-T immunotherapy clinical trial was released showing that more than one-third of refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients in the study showed no signs of the disease after six months. Since 2015, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has been funding this study through its collaboration with Kite Pharma, a biotechnology company focused on immunotherapy. In this therapy, immune T-cells are removed from the patient’s body, an...
Today, Vice President Joe Biden’s National Cancer Moonshot announced a new series of commitments from federal agencies, private, philanthropic, and academic sectors, and the patient advocacy community, to accelerate cancer research progress and bring the most promising science and clinical developments to cancer patients quickly. I have the honor of attending today’s Cancer Moonshot events in Washington, D.C., in support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s unrelenting commitment...
A blood cancer diagnosis typically leads one to an oncologist or hematologist, a cancer center and a conversation about available treatment options. One option that is not always presented is that of being part of a research study. Clinical trials are carefully controlled studies of new or existing drugs, conducted by doctors. Researchers are trying to find ways to increase the effectiveness or decrease the side effects of treatment. A treatment that is proven safe and effective in a clini...
Not only has Irene Ghobrial, M.D. dedicated her professional life to finding lifesaving treatments for cancer, but over the past few months she has dedicated her leisure time to training for a half marathon in Alaska, to raise funds for cancer research. Ghobrial has trained with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training (TNT), the non-profit’s endurance training program. Ghobrial, a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) physician-scientist, has been closely affiliated ...
Speaking from the heart, Vice President Joseph Biden addressed thousands of cancer researchers today in a packed hall at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (#ASCO16) annual meeting in Chicago, to tout his Cancer Moonshot initiative. The theme of this year’s #ASCO16 meeting, “Collective Wisdom – The Future of Patient-Centered Care and Research,” is perfectly aligned with the goals of the Moonshot, Biden told the rapt audience.
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (#ASCO16) annual meeting featured several significant oral scientific presentations on the blood cancers over the weekend here in Chicago. CPX-351: A session on hematological malignancies Saturday afternoon included a discussion of final data from the Phase 3 clinical trial of Celator’s drug CPX-351 (Vyxeos ®). LLS invested substantially in this study through our Therapy Acceleration Program (TAP). The study was in a small subset of elderly pati...
The American Society of Clinical Oncology (#ASCO16) annual meeting kicked off today as more than 30,000 researchers from around the world converged in Chicago to share their latest clinical findings on treatments and diagnostics for all cancers, and to exchange ideas about how to improve outcomes for cancer patients. Putting patients at the center of cancer care and research is this year’s theme at ASCO, something we at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) try to do every day. Sprin...
The Food & Drug Administration’s accelerated approval of an immunotherapy for patients with Hodgkin lymphoma who have failed other treatments is a positive development for patients who face a very poor prognosis. While Hodgkin lymphoma is now considered one of the most curable forms of cancer – with a more than 86 percent five-year-survival rate overall – those patients who relapse after treatment have a much reduced chance of survival. FDA’s approval of nivolumab (Opdivo®)...
