The New Leukemia Drugs

While chemotherapy, radiation and surgical operation are well known cancer treatment methods, few population untouched by the malignant disease are aware of a new class of medication called targeted therapy drugs which are leading the way in a new, efficient strategy in the war on cancer. Targeted therapy drugs are available for many separate types of cancer but in the fight against leukemia, where surgical operation to take off a tumor is not an option, they are most welcome and improving survival rates.

Targeted therapy is a broad-based term used to delineate a new class of drugs that seek to stop or inhibit the increase (dividing process) of new cancer cells by interfering with exact molecules that "signal" for new cancer cells to grow and develop. Since targeted therapy drugs are directed only at the molecules that "allow" the process of creating cancer cells, they commonly do not harm healthy cells in the way that chemotherapy and radiation does, and is commonly determined less harmful with side-effects than chemotherapy and radiation. Other names used to delineate this class of drugs includes molecularly targeted drugs, and moleculary targeted therapies.

What Is Leukemia

Targeted therapy drugs are used alone or in composition with chemotherapy drugs to maximize results. They are also divided up between first-line and second-line treatment consideration. First line treatment for cancer means that exact drugs, or a composition of drugs, is used in the preliminary round or policy of treatment, before any other drug or composition of drugs is tried. Second-line treatment means that a exact drug, or composition of drugs, is used after first-round treatment was tried and failed, yielded poor results, produced side-effects determined too severe, and when a cancer has reappeared after remission.

Optimism over this new line of cancer drugs should be curbed since not all "targeted therapy drugs" turn out to be beneficial. Gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylortag®) was pulled from pharmacy shelves in the summer of 2010 by Pfizer after a closer look by the Fda revealed the drug offered no benefit when used with chemotherapy drugs, and after a greater estimate of deaths occurred in the group of patients who received Mylotarg compared with those receiving chemotherapy alone.

First-Line treatment targeted therapy drugs for leukemia include.

Imatinib (Gleevec®) is used to treat:

Philadelphia chromosome unavoidable lasting myelogenous leukemia (Cml). Hypereosinophilic syndrome or lasting eosinophilic leukemia (Cel). Relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome unavoidable acute lymphoblastic leukemia (All).

With this drug, more than 90% of patients will be able to keep Cml in check for at least five years, reducing it to a chronic, manageable condition in that time. Gleevec is determined to be one of the most prosperous examples of targeted therapy, available today. It works by blocking the operation of the abnormal protein that signals cancer cells to multiply. Gleevec, beloved in 2001, was one of the first targeted therapy drugs to come out and is one of the most widely used since it is also used to treat gastrointestinal stromal tumors (Gists). Ninety percent of all lasting myelogenous leukemia cases animated the Philadelphia chromosome.

Nilotinib (Tasigna®) is used as a first line treatment to treat lasting myelogenous leukemia (Cml) that is Philadelphia chromosome positive. Early results of an on-going 5 year study revealed in December, 2010, show that Tasigna might be excellent to the beloved Gleevec for treating Cml patients. Tasigna cut the estimate of a tell-tale protein in the blood in three times as many patients with leukemia as did it's predecessor, Gleevec.

In a Bloomberg story stemming from press issue issued by the drug's maker, the firm reported: "In the clinical trial, designed to consequent about 900 patients for five years, approximately three times more population taking 300 milligrams of Tasigna twice daily had only a trace estimate of the Bcr-Abl protein in their blood after 24 months. The other patients took either 400 milligrams of Gleevec once a day or 400 milligrams of Tasigna twice a day."

Tasigna is mabe by Novartis, the same firm that created Gleevec. Novartis considers Tasigna the excellent successor to Gleevec, whose patent runs out in 2015. The down-side of Tasigna is that it carries a black box warning from the Fda for an irregular heart rhythm (Qt prolongation) that can lead to fainting, loss of consciousness, seizures, or sudden death. Even with this warning, the Fda granted Tasigna first-line treatment status for Philadelphia chromosome-positive lasting myeloid leukemia in the lasting phase in June, 2010.

Dasatinib (Sprycel®) was once the go to drug when Gleevec and other types of medications don't work initially, no longer work, or are not administered due to their severe side-effects, but is now a first-line treatment drug for Cml. Sprycel is used to treat:

Chronic myelogenous leukemia (Cml). This includes patients with Cml that is Philadelphia chromosome positive. (Approved first-line treatment). Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (All) that is Philadelphia chromosome positive, in patients who are not able to use other drugs together with Gleevec. (Second-line treatment).

Sprycel works the same way as Gleevec, by blocking the operation of an abnormal protein that tells cancer cells to multiply. Sprycel received first-line treatment status for Cml-Philadelphia chromosome by the Fda in October, 2010.

Second-Line treatment targeted therapy drugs for leukemia include:

Tretinoin (Vesanoid®) is used to treat acute promyelocytic leukemia in patients who did not benefit from other types of chemotherapy, or whose condition improved with other types of chemotherapy, but then got worse. Tretinoin is used to yield remission (a decrease or disappearance leukemia symptoms ) in Apl, however, other medications must be used after treatment with tretinoin to preclude the cancer from returning. Vesanoid comes with an Fda warning for a group of symptoms linked to its main ingredient which is a type of Vitamin A.

Rituximab (Rituxan®) is used in composition with other drugs (primarily the chemo drug fludarabine) to treat B-cell lasting lymphocytic leukemia, together with hairy cell leukemia (a subtype of Cll). Rituxan comes with an Fda warning that oncologists make aware to their patients.

Alemtuzumab (Campath®) is used to treat B-cell lasting lymphocytic leukemia (B-Cll) after a chemotherapy drug called fludarabine has failed. Campath comes with an Fda warning that patients will be informed about.

Ofatumumab (Arzerra®) is beloved by the Food and Drug supervision (Fda) to treat lasting lymphocytic leukemia (Cll) in adults that have not gotten best with a chemotherapy/targeted drug therapy animated fludarabine (chemo), and alemtuzumab (targeted).

The New Leukemia Drugs