Monoclonal antibody drug superior to chemotherapy for superior acute lymphoblastic leukemia
The study, led by The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, randomly assigned 405 patients 18 years or older to groups receiving either blinatumomab or chemotherapy. Overall survival was significantly longer in the blinatumomab group with median survival of 7.7 months versus four months for those on chemotherapy. Remission rates within 12 weeks after treatment began were higher in the blinatumomab group with complete remission rates of 34 percent reported in this group versus 16 percent for those on chemotherapy. The study also showed that patients treated with blinatumomab had a lower rate of adverse effects. While the prognosis for newly diagnosed ALL has improved over the last three decades with intensive chemotherapy regimens resulting in complete remission rates of 85 to 90 percent and long-term survival rates of 30 to 50 percent, most adult patients with the B-cell precursor ALL, the most common form, ultimately relapse and die from disease complications. The accepte...