Researchers detect a loophole in chronic lymphocytic leukemia treatment

(Rockefeller University Press) A team of researchers in Italy and Austria has determined that a drug approved to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) may be less effective in a particular subset of patients. The study, which will be published Jan. 4 in the Journal of Experimental Medicine, reveals that ibrutinib has a diminished capacity to delocalize and kill tumor cells expressing an adhesive protein called CD49d, but combining ibrutinib treatment with drugs that block CD49d activation could prevent the tumor cells from sheltering in lymphoid organs.

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-01/rup-rda010218.php

Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - January 4, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news