This Clinical Trial Helped Hard-to-Treat Leukemia

(HealthDay News) — A newly approved immunotherapy can help adults with a difficult-to-treat form of leukemia, clinical trial results show. Aucatzyl (obecabtagene autoleucel) worked on more than three-quarters (76%) of patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and more than half (55%) went into remission, according to results published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine. Based on these results, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Aucatzyl for adults with this form of leukemia in November. “Patients with B-cell ALL need effective standalone treatment options, and [Aucatzyl] demonstrated strong long-term efficacy and response rates,” said lead U.S. investigator Dr. Elias Jabbour, a professor of leukemia with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. This form of leukemia affects the development of B-cells, white blood cells made in the bone marrow that help the body fight off infections, according to the Leukemia Research Foundation. The cancer causes the bone marrow to churn out abnormal, immature B-cells called lymphoblasts. These abnormal B-cells build up in the bone marrow and spill over into the blood, causing them to quickly spread to other areas of the body. About 75% of adults with ALL have the B-cell ALL subtype, according to the...