Leukemia

n WHITE PLAINS, NY-The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has joined in a collaborative partnership with Novartis to educate the public about imatinib mesylate (Gleevec, also known as STI-571), Novartis’ new oral medication approved by the FDA for patients with Philadelphia-chromosome-positive chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who have failed interferon therapy.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO-The FDA has approved a supplemental biological license application (sBLA) for Rituxan (rituximab), the monoclonal antibody developed by Genentech, Inc. and IDEC Pharmaceuticals (San Diego) for treatment of patient with relapsed or refractory, low-grade or follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The new product labeling includes re-treatment with rituximab after a prior course, initial treatment with eight weekly infusions instead of four, and treatment of bulky disease.

WASHINGTON-A new evaluation of existing scientific studies has found "limited or suggestive" evidence to link servicemen’s wartime exposures to herbicides in Vietnam with the development of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in their children. However, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee that reported the finding emphasized that the evidence for the association is not conclusive.

WASHINGTON -The Food and Drug Administration, acting with dispatch, has approved the marketing of Gleevec (imatinib mesylate, Novartis) for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). The agency granted the drug priority review and orphan drug status, and approved it under the FDA’s "accelerated approval" regulations less than 3 months after the sponsor submitted its marketing request.

Novartis recently announced that the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved its signal transduction inhibitor Gleevec (imatinib mesylate) as an oral therapy for the treatment of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in

NEW YORK-Novel treatment strategies targeting specific cytokines may provide an additional therapeutic window for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), Janice L. Gabrilove, MD, of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, said at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVIII.

The exact mechanism of development of autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is unclear, but the imbalance among lymphocyte subsets is considered to be the basis for the emergence of an autoimmune

Treatment options for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are limited. In this report, we present our preliminary results of a biochemotherapy combination using rituximab (Rituxan, a monoclonal antibody against CD20) with

Initial treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with fludarabine (Fludara) or fludarabine/cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar) resulted in complete remission (CR) rates of 28% and 35%, respectively. Recently, rituximab (Rituxan)

HOUSTON-Liposomal encapsulated tretinoin (Atragen) is active in relapsed aggressive T-cell and B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas (NHL) as well as in cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCL), and strikingly effective in patients with primary refractory disease. Andreas H. Sarris, MD, PhD, associate internist and associate professor of medicine at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, reported these results in a poster presentation. Liposomal tretinoin is more active than the oral formulation when tested against lymphoma cell lines and also down regulates expression of bcl-2, Dr. Sarris said.

NEW YORK-The promise of molecularly targeted therapies has been validated in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), Brian J. Druker, MD, of Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, said at the Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium XVIII. "This disease has provided an ideal opportunity to test the concept that drugs targeted against a tumor-specific abnormality will have therapeutic utility," he said.

SAN FRANCISCO-Patients receiving monoclonal antibody-targeted chemotherapy with gemtuzumab ozo-gamicin (Mylotarg) rather than conventional combination chemotherapy for first relapse of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) are more likely to be treated as outpatients, resulting in considerable cost savings, according to a study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and Wyeth-Ayerst Research.

SAN FRANCISCO-Results of a phase II, open-label, multicenter study show that the investigational agent STI571 holds promise for many patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) whose disease has proved resistant to interferon therapy.

Over the past 2 decades, our understanding of the pathobiological events underlying chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has grown. At the same time, effective transplant and nontransplant treatment approaches to

Over the past 2 decades, our understanding of the pathobiological events underlying chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has grown. At the same time, effective transplant and nontransplant treatment approaches to

Over the past 2 decades, our understanding of the pathobiological events underlying chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) has grown. At the same time, effective transplant and nontransplant treatment approaches to

ASCO-STI-571, an investigational drug that has high activity in benign-phase chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), also produces significant hematologic responses in patients with advanced-stage CML or acute forms of leukemia, Moshe Talpaz, MD, said at the 36th annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in New Orleans.

The article by Drs. Girardi and Edelson is an extensive review of the history, diagnosis, and current management of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL). This entity is classified in the Revised European-American Lymphoma/World Health Organization

Drs. Girardi and Edelson provide a concise discussion of current issues surrounding the management of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphomas. They discuss a number of current theories regarding etiology and pathogenesis and provide a

Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) is a malignancy of a distinctive subset of T-helper cells designated “cutaneous T cells” because of their central role in the normal functioning of the skin immune system. Guided by

ASCO-Mylotarg (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) has received FDA approval for treatment of CD33-positive acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) in patients age 60 and older in first relapse who are poor candidates for cytotoxic therapy. The agent, manufactured by Wyeth-Ayerst, was approved as an orphan drug.

T-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of diseases that differ markedly in terms of their clinical behavior and prognosis. In recently developed classification systems, the sites of initial disease

Mycosis fungoides is an indolent primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) that usually progresses from localized skin lesions to systemic disease. Sézary syndrome is a distinct variant characterized by generalized

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved bexarotene (Targretin) for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell

CMA-676 (gemtuzumab zogamicin) is an antibody-targeted chemotherapeutic agent consisting of a humanized anti-CD33 antibody linked to calicheamicin, a potent cytotoxic

PORTLAND, Oregon-A rationally designed drug now known as STI 571 is both effective and well tolerated in treating certain leukemia patients that have not responded to other therapies. The results of two phase I clinical trials using STI 571 for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were reported by Brian Druker, MD, of the Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, at the ASH meeting. The trials were conducted in collaboration with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Novartis Pharmaceuticals in East Hanover, New Jersey, and the University of California at Los Angeles.

NEW YORK-Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is an aggressive disease. But improved diagnosis with cytogenetic examinations and other special studies have made it possible to select the most effective induction therapy, Frederick R. Appelbaum, MD, told patients at a teleconference sponsored by Cancer Care Inc. and the Leukemia Society of America.

CHICAGO-Using all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) to both induce remission and for maintenance makes acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) potentially the most curable subtype of adult acute myeloid leukemia, said Martin S. Tallman, MD, at the American Society of Hematology meeting.

BETHESDA, Md-The Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) has recommended that the FDA approve Targretin capsules (bexarotene, Ligand Pharmaceuticals) for the treatment of advanced cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL) but not for early stage CTCL.

NEW ORLEANS-STI 571, an investigational drug for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), produced complete hematologic responses in all patients receiving higher doses, according to preliminary analysis of phase I data presented at the 41st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (see illustration ). All participants had failed interferon-alfa therapy.