Drugs Work Better Than Chemo for Some Leukemia Patients

Drugs Work Better Than Chemo for Some Leukemia Patients

By Admin at 8 Feb 2016, 00:00 AM


Chemotherapy is a first-line treatment for many types of cancer, but it’s a double-edged sword. While it may help to kill off cancer cells, it takes a toll on your body and comes with serious side effects.

Researchers are increasingly looking toward chemo alternatives that fight cancer without the risks of chemo, allowing patients to continue living their lives even while in the midst of cancer treatment.

Not all cancer patients are candidates for chemo alternatives, but some, like those with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), may fare better by skipping chemo and instead taking anti-cancer drugs.

CLL is the most common type of leukemia. The anti-cancer drug ibrutinib is approved to treat CLL, but only after other treatment options, including chemo, have failed. A new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine found, however, that patients appear to fare much better when ibrutinib is used first, instead of chemo.

The study involved 269 patients with CLL who were 65 years old or older, and who had not yet been treated for the disease. Those treated with ibrutinib had better survival rates and fewer side effects than those who received standard chemotherapy.

The survival rate in the ibrutinib group was 98 percent after two years compared to 85 percent in the chemo group. The relative risk of death was 84 percent lower among those taking ibrutinib compared to those who received chemo. Lead study author Dr. Jan Burger of the MD Anderson Cancer Center told TIME:

 

“The big message is that there is a major difference between the two groups … The ibrutinib patients are doing much better in every aspect in terms of their response rates.”

 

Ibrutinib is a targeted cancer treatment that inhibits the functioning of the Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) protein, which tells the leukemia cells to divide and helps them survive. Side effects, which may include diarrhea, nausea, constipation and fatigue, are generally mild.

The one major drawback to using ibrutinib as a first-line treatment is its price, with researchers of a separate study noting:

 

Although ibrutinib and idelalisib [a similar drug] are profound treatment advances, they will dramatically increase individual out-of-pocket and societal costs of caring for patients with CLL.”

 

That being said, while ibrutinib may cost more initially, chemotherapy often leads to additional hospitalizations and increased need for medical care due to side effects, so more research is needed to determine whether the total costs of treatment are really all that different.

Dr. Kristie Blum of The Ohio State (OSU) University Comprehensive Cancer Center, who has also researched ibrutinib and CLL, explained to the Lymphoma Research Foundation:

 

"I anticipate ibrutinib is going to change the paradigm for treatment of MCL [mantle cell lymphoma] and CLL where traditionally intensive combination chemotherapy regimens and sometimes stem cell transplantation are utilized to a model where oral drugs with limited side effects allowing long term dosing are favored."

 

Sources:
New England Journal of Medicine December 17, 2015
Journal of Oncology Practice March 24, 2015
TIME December 6, 2015
Lymphoma Research Foundation

 

 

 

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