New Leukemia Medicines Bring Chemotherapy-Free Potential
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New medicines from Gilead Sciences Inc., Roche Holding AG, Pharmacyclics Inc. and others are poised to reshape treatment of the most common form of leukemia among adults, potentially eliminating chemotherapy from regimens and extending patients’ lives.
The therapies target specific biological pathways known to drive chronic lymphocytic leukemia, a typically slow-moving cancer of the blood and bone marrow that usually strikes older people, some of whom can’t tolerate the toxic chemotherapies that are part of current treatment regimens.