Revolutionizing CLL Treatment

In a new study published in the journal Cancer, researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that a change in treatment protocol for early stage, high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) can delay the need for conventional chemotherapy. The new protocol involves using certain biomarkers to predict the prognosis in patients newly diagnosed with CLL, then treating patients identified as being at risk for a poorer prognosis with monoclonal antibodies right away, rather than waiting for disease progression before starting treatment.

While this particular finding is still being studied, all patients at the Mayo Clinic are being given the predictive tests and the monoclonal antibodies being used in the study are already approved and available. Monoclonal antibodies that are not joined to any other substance, such as rituximab or alemtuzumab, do not have the same serious side effects that are associated with conventional chemotherapy drugs; while researchers cannot say that the new treatment protocol increases survival time or quality of life, being able to hold off on conventional chemotherapy is desirable because of the side effects involved.