Fwd: LRF Newsline #846 - Lenalidomide helpful in refractory chronic lymphocyt...

[Guest guest]

I hope you can all receive this. My doctor is talking to me about Revlimid as a possibility. Not to rush into anything, but just to be aware of this. One catch is that the drug is frightfully expensive.

Newsline #846 12 / 15 / 06

Lenalidomide helpful in refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Reuters Health

Posting Date: December 15, 2006

Last Updated: 2006-12-15 9:13:03 -0400 (Reuters Health)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Lenalidomide (Revlimid, Celgene), a thalidomide analog, produces a beneficial response in many patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), researchers report in the December 1st issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

"This is a unique, non-chemotherapy drug that is given orally once a day," lead investigator Dr. Asher Chanan-Khan told Reuters Health. "It changes the environment around the cancer cell and makes it unfavorable. It also activates the immune cells which then better recognize the cancer cells."

Dr. Chanan-Khan of Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York and colleagues studied 45 patients with B-cell CLL. Their median age was 64 years and 64% had Rai stage III or IV disease. All had at least one prior treatment but had relapsed or been refractory to treatment; 51% were refractory to fludarabine.

They were given lenalidomide 25 mg/d orally for 21 days of a 28 day cycle. Responses were assessed after each cycle. Patients continued until disease progression, unacceptable toxicity or complete remission.

Overall, 21 (47%) of patients responded. Four patients (9%) achieved complete remission and 17 (38%) had partial remission. Fatigue, thrombocytopenia and neutropenia were the most common side effects and occurred in about 80% of patients.

"What is most interesting," Dr. Chanan-Khan noted, "is that this drug is oral, convenient, fairly well tolerated and is showing complete responses in patients who have failed prior chemotherapy."

Overall, the investigators conclude that the findings are encouraging and warrant further investigation of the agent in CLL.

J Clin Oncol 2006;24:5343-5349.

Copyright © 2006 Reuters Limited

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