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New Agents in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

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Abstract

Despite advances in treatment, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) remains incurable with standard therapies. Novel therapeutic agents are needed, particularly for patients with high-risk cytogenetic abnormalities such as del(17p13). The past year has seen several advances in this field. The immunomodulatory drug lenalidomide and the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor flavopiridol demonstrated clinical activity in fludarabine-refractory CLL patients with high-risk cytogenetic features and bulky lymphadenopathy, but they were associated with toxicities such as tumor flare and tumor lysis. Second-generation monoclonal anti-CD20 antibodies in clinical trials include ofatumumab, which demonstrated activity in fludarabine-refractory patients with bulky lymphadenopathy. Oblimersen, obatoclax, and ABT-263 target the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2. Investigational agents with novel therapeutic targets include the anti-CD37 small modular immunopharmaceutical TRU-016, the oral spleen tyrosine kinase (Syk) inhibitor fostamatinib, and the oral phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitor CAL-101; all of these have all shown preliminary evidence of clinical activity. The development of novel agents for treating CLL remains an active, exciting area of research.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Disclosure

The author wrote this article while a faculty member at The Ohio State University, but he is currently employed by GlaxoSmithKline (Collegeville, PA), co-developer and co-marketer of ofatumumab (Arzerra). He was formerly a consultant and member of Advisory Boards for Genentech and received research funding from Sanofi-Aventis. No other potential conflict of interest relevant to this article was reported.

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  1. GlaxoSmithKline, 1250 South Collegeville Road, Collegeville, PA, 19426, USA

    Thomas S. Lin

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Lin, T.S. New Agents in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Curr Hematol Malig Rep 5, 29–34 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-009-0039-9

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