Unprecedented success in trialling new adult leukaemia therapy Posted on December 13, 2013February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit A new, potentially life-saving drug has raised new hope for patients in advanced stages of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia – one of the most common types of adult leukaemia in Australia. In many cases this cancer becomes resistant to traditional treatment methods such as chemotherapy. This is because of its high levels of a “pro-survival” protein called BCL-2 that render cancer cells, according to Walter and Eliza Hall Institute haematologist Prof. Andrew Roberts “basically indestructible”. Continue reading “Unprecedented success in trialling new adult leukaemia therapy”
Clinical trials reward 20 years of research into leukaemia Posted on August 16, 2011February 25, 2018 by Carly du Toit A new anti-cancer agent is entering clinical trials to treat the most common type of leukaemia. The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI) in Melbourne is implementing the phase Ia clinical trial that will demonstrate the safest dose of ABT-199, a drug designed to block the function of the Bcl-2 protein which allows leukaemia cells to live longer. Continue reading “Clinical trials reward 20 years of research into leukaemia”
