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In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is celebrating women scientists, physicians, philanthropic leaders, social workers, nurses, staff, and supporters at the front lines of the fight against blood cancer. From bolstering the early careers of researchers to helping scientists accelerate their discoveries from the lab to clinical trials, LLS is dedicated to supporting and recognizing women in science and all those who are advancing our mi...
Rye Brook, N.Y. (January 19, 2021) – On January 15, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced approval of daratumumab plus hyaluronidase (Darzalex Faspro®) for adults with newly diagnosed light chain (AL) amyloidosis, a rare and serious blood cell disorder that may occur by itself or with myeloma. Daratumumab is used in combination with chemotherapy agents bortezomib (Velcade®) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan® or Neosar®), plus the corticosteroid dexamethasone in these patient...
At The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), we celebrate every advancement toward our mission of curing blood cancer and improving the quality of life for patients and their families. Today’s reason to celebrate is the news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a new treatment for children with a rare type of cancer called ALK-positive anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL). ALCL constitutes approximately 10-15% of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in the pediatric population...
Labs are eerily quiet. Clinical trials have been paused. Cancer researchers – particularly those who are early in their careers – are facing unprecedented uncertainty. The global COVID-19 pandemic has not only upended every aspect of cancer care for patients and their families, but also halted critical research around the world. In addition to lab closures, many institutions and organizations have been forced to scale back their investments in research, creating unexpected funding shortag...
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is shining a light on our community of women trailblazers who are leading the way to cancer cures. Malathy Shanmugam, PhD, MS, Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University in Atlanta, is at the forefront of finding new treatments and cures for myeloma. With support from LLS, Dr. Shanmugam is researching an innovative targeted therapy called venetoclax, which is showing promise in multiple myeloma and...
In recent years, there has been a rapid surge in the amount of genomic information available to researchers. This information enhances the understanding of human disease and provides the fuel needed to achieve personalized medicine. New advances in technology and in the ability to analyze massive datasets have allowed scientists to more precisely define cancer behavior, including how these diseases adapt to evade therapy. In order to survive, cancer cells undergo genetic changes in their DNA ...
The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded today to two scientists whose groundbreaking work led to the development of a class of immunotherapies called checkpoint inhibitors that work by releasing the brakes on the immune system. James P. Allison, Ph.D., chair of department of immunology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and director of the Cancer Research Institute Scientific Advisory Council, and Tasuku Honjo, M.D., Ph.D., of Kyoto University School of Medicine...
More than 20,000 cancer scientists from around the globe came to Chicago this week to share and learn about the latest advances in research and treatments at the annual meeting of the American Association of Cancer Research (AACR). AACR is one of the world’s oldest and largest nonprofits dedicated to cancer research and education. Blood cancers were among the thousands of scientific presentations and educational sessions. And while much of the excitement focused on lung cancer and ot...
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...
Advances in cancer research seem to be occurring at dizzying speed these days. In just the past three years, we’ve seen a plethora of new therapies approved to treat patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and multiple myeloma. And the rapidly advancing field of cancer immunotherapy has produced several novel approaches to treat cancer patients by activating their own immune systems to fight the cancer. Meanwhile, as we learn more about the underlying causes of cancer, scientists are ...
