Tiny Mutation Triggers Drug Resistance For Patients With One Type Of Leukemia
Thursday, May 29, 2014 - 02:02
in Health & Medicine
A multi-institutional team of researchers has pinpointed exactly what goes wrong when chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients develop resistance to ibrutinib, a highly effective, precisely targeted anti-cancer drug. In a correspondence published online May 28 in the New England Journal of Medicine, they show how the mutation triggers resistance. Their finding could guide development of new agents to treat drug-resistant disease. Ibrutinib received accelerated approval from the Food and Drug Administration for use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia in February. It has revolutionized treatment, transforming CLL from a deadly disease to a chronic one. But about eight percent of patients develop resistance to this lifesaving drug. read more