Leukemia News and Research

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Leukemia (Leukaemia) is a cancer of the blood cells. It is the most common type of blood cancer and affects 10 times as many adults as children. Most people diagnosed with leukemia are over 50 years old. No one knows why some people develop leukemia and others do not. However, scientists have identified some risk factors for the disease. Most people who have known risk factors do not get leukemia, while many who do get the disease have none of these risk factors. During the early stages of leukemia, there may be no symptoms. Many of the symptoms of leukemia don't become apparent until a large number of normal blood cells are crowded out by leukemia cells.

Ponatinib ‘superior’ to sequential second-generation TKI treatment in CML

Patients with chronic myelogenous leukaemia resistant or intolerant to at least one second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor have a higher probability of achieving a response to the third-generation TKI ponatinib than to a further second-generation TKI, research indicates.

9 Dec 2014

Study finds that disarray in methylation helps tumors adapt to changing circumstances

The genetic tumult within cancerous tumors is more than matched by the disorder in one of the mechanisms for switching cells' genes on and off, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard report in a new study.

9 Dec 2014

CTI BioPharma presents data from Phase 3 trial of pacritinib in AML patients at ASH 2014

CTI BioPharma Corp. today announced data showing treatment with pacritinib, an investigational oral multikinase inhibitor in Phase 3 clinical development, preferentially killed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells with FLT3 mutations, overcame stromal protection and suppressed leukemic outgrowth from stroma adherent AML cells in both medium-term (7-14 days) and long-term (5-6 weeks) assays.

9 Dec 2014

$IMBRUVICA-rituximab combination well tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL$

IMBRUVICA-rituximab combination well tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL

New IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) Phase II data announced by Pharmacyclics, Inc. today demonstrates its potential utility as a combination therapy when used with rituximab. Data suggest that the overall efficacy and safety profile of IMBRUVICA is well tolerated when combined with rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

9 Dec 2014

Kiadis Pharma reports positive interim data from ATIR Phase II clinical study

Kiadis Pharma B.V., a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing T-cell immunotherapy treatments for blood cancers, today announces positive interim data from the ongoing Phase II clinical study with its lead product ATIR.

9 Dec 2014

Amgen announces new data from BLINCYTO Phase 2 study for treatment of patients with ALL

Amgen today announced that new data from a pivotal Phase 2 study evaluating BLINCYTO (blinatumomab) for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) was presented at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

9 Dec 2014

Phase 2 RESONATE-17 study: IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) improves survival in CLL patients with del 17p

Results from the Phase 2 RESONATE-17 (PCYC-1117) study show IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) was associated with an 82.6 percent investigator-assessed overall response rate (ORR; the primary endpoint) and a 79 percent progression-free survival (PFS) rate at 12 months in people living with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) who have a genetic mutation known as deletion 17p (del 17p).

9 Dec 2014

PRM-151 compound shows positive results for treating advanced myelofibrosis

A study that investigated the potential of the compound PRM-151 (PRM) for reducing progressive bone marrow fibrosis (scarring) in patients with advanced myelofibrosis has shown initial positive results. Myelofibrosis is a life-threatening bone marrow cancer.

8 Dec 2014

Findings open new avenues for research to predict risk of therapy-related AML

For a small percentage of cancer patients, treatment aimed at curing the disease leads to a form of leukemia with a poor prognosis. Conventional thinking goes that chemotherapy and radiation therapy induce a barrage of damaging genetic mutations that kill cancer cells yet inadvertently spur the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a blood cancer.

8 Dec 2014

Studies presented at ASH meeting compare new, standard-of-care treatments for blood clots

Studies presented at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition compare new and standard-of-care treatments for blood clots and further illuminate clot risks in vulnerable populations, such as cancer patients.

8 Dec 2014

Combination therapy benefits patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Patients who relapse in their battle with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) may benefit from a phase three study of therapies that combine an existing agent, cytarabine, with a newer compound, vosaroxin.

8 Dec 2014

Subsets of cells drive spread of multiple myeloma

Although it is among the most highly metastatic of all cancers, multiple myeloma is driven to spread by only a subset of the myeloma cells within a patient's body, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have found in a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

8 Dec 2014

Oral targeted drug shows encouraging activity in patients with relapsed or resistant AML

An oral targeted drug has shown encouraging activity and tolerable side effects in patients with treatment-resistant or relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) - a poor-prognosis group with few options - report investigators from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

8 Dec 2014

Two-drug combination may be effective for patients with higher-risk forms of MDS and AML

A phase two study that investigated the potential of the drugs azacitidine (AZA) and lenalidomide (LEN), demonstrated that the two therapies in combination may be an effective frontline treatment regimen for patients with higher-risk forms of myelodysplastic syndrome and acute myeloid leukemia.

8 Dec 2014

Adolescent and young adult patients with ALL fare better with high-intensity pediatric protocols

Results from a large, prospective clinical trial add to mounting evidence that adolescent and young adult patients--aged 16 to 39 with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)--tend to fare better when treated with high-intensity pediatric protocols than previous patients who were treated with standard adult regimens.

8 Dec 2014

New type of cancer therapy shows promise in patients with advanced leukemia

A new type of cancer therapy that targets an oncometabolite produced dramatic results in patients with advanced leukemia in an early-phase clinical trial. The study, led by Eytan M. Stein, MD, a medical oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, was presented today at the 56th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

8 Dec 2014

AbbVie reports results from venetoclax Phase 2 clinical trial in AML at ASH 2014

AbbVie presented during an oral presentation at the American Society of Hematology's 56th Annual Meeting new results from a Phase 2 study of investigational compound venetoclax (ABT-199/GDC-0199) in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). AML is an aggressive and deadly type of blood cancer, in which the body produces too many of a specific type of white blood cell (myeloblast), which can crowd out healthy blood cells.

8 Dec 2014

Novel targeted therapies and treatment combinations for leukemia

Recognizing that leukemia cannot be conquered with a "one-size-fits-all" approach, researchers are pursuing novel targeted therapies and combinations of existing treatment regimens with new agents for patient populations with historically poor prognoses, according to data presented today during the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

7 Dec 2014

Emerging strategies to boost healthy RBCs may reduce burden of anemia linked to blood disorders

Emerging treatment approaches may reduce the burden of anemia associated with blood disorders by enhancing production of healthy red blood cells, according to data presented today at the 56th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

7 Dec 2014

Researchers identify new targets for future CLL therapies

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is among the most frequent leukemias affecting adults in Western countries. It usually occurs in older patients, does not cause any symptoms for a long time and is often only discovered by accident. Despite treatment, relapses frequently occur. The immunologists Dr. Kristina Heinig and Dr. Uta Höpken (Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, MDC, Berlin-Buch) and the hematologist Dr. Armin Rehm (MDC and Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin) have now discovered why this is so.

7 Dec 2014

Leukemia News and Research

Further Reading

Ponatinib ‘superior’ to sequential second-generation TKI treatment in CML

Study finds that disarray in methylation helps tumors adapt to changing circumstances

CTI BioPharma presents data from Phase 3 trial of pacritinib in AML patients at ASH 2014

IMBRUVICA-rituximab combination well tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL

Kiadis Pharma reports positive interim data from ATIR Phase II clinical study

Amgen announces new data from BLINCYTO Phase 2 study for treatment of patients with ALL

Phase 2 RESONATE-17 study: IMBRUVICA (ibrutinib) improves survival in CLL patients with del 17p

PRM-151 compound shows positive results for treating advanced myelofibrosis

Findings open new avenues for research to predict risk of therapy-related AML

Studies presented at ASH meeting compare new, standard-of-care treatments for blood clots

Combination therapy benefits patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Subsets of cells drive spread of multiple myeloma

Oral targeted drug shows encouraging activity in patients with relapsed or resistant AML

Two-drug combination may be effective for patients with higher-risk forms of MDS and AML

Adolescent and young adult patients with ALL fare better with high-intensity pediatric protocols

New type of cancer therapy shows promise in patients with advanced leukemia

AbbVie reports results from venetoclax Phase 2 clinical trial in AML at ASH 2014

Novel targeted therapies and treatment combinations for leukemia

Emerging strategies to boost healthy RBCs may reduce burden of anemia linked to blood disorders

Researchers identify new targets for future CLL therapies

Bringing real-time analytics to downstream bioprocess monitoring

Designing fluidic architecture for scalable diagnostic platforms

Evaluating new approaches for rare disease genomics

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