Leukemia Research Funded by LLS
Leukemia Research Funded by LLS
Nearly every breakthrough in cancer treatment has emerged from our support of leukemia research, from chemotherapy to groundbreaking CAR T-cell immunotherapy. With more than $65 million committed to leukemia research, we are leading the way to cures.
Leukemia makes up approroximately one third of all new blood cancer cases in the U.S. and Europe. Leukemia is also the most common cancer in general in children and teens, accounting for almost one out of three cancers.
Leukemia is a cancer of the early blood-forming cells and it usually begins in the bone marrow. This blood cancer is divided into several groups based on whether the leukemia is fast growing (acute leukemias) or slower growing (chronic leukemias), and whether it starts in myeloid cells (myeloid or myelogenous leukemias) or lymphoid cells (lymphoblastic or lymphocytic leukemias).
Leukemia Subtypes
Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL)
The five-year survival rate for a child with leukemia 50 years ago was a dismal 3%, but with the advent of combination chemotherapy as standard of care in the 1960s, increasing understanding of the disease, and more recent discoveries of novel therapeutics, cures are now possible in children. LLS has been at the forefront in improving outcomes for patients with ALL.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is an aggressive, rapidly-progressing disease in which the immature blood cells do not develop properly and grow uncontrollably. The AML cells crowd out and interfere with the number and function of normal blood cells. The need for new treatments for AML remains urgent, which is why The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has invested approximately one quarter of its research dollars annually in the disease, more than $142 million over the past decade.
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)
Over the past 10 years, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has invested more than $52 million to accelerate pioneering research in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a blood cancer characterized by the development of too many white blood cells called lymphocytes. Our investment has unlocked new insights on CLL disease mechanisms and advanced new therapies to improve outcomes and care for patients.
Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML)
Outcomes for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have dramatically improved over the past 50 years. While the ten year survival rates were less than 20% with the use of cytotoxic agents in the 1970’s, and improved to 50% with bone marrow transplants, the biggest improvements occurred within the last 20 years after the approval of an oral therapy, known as imatinib.
Hairy Cell Leukemia (HCL)
Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) is a rare, slow-growing disease that responds to initial treatment. Chemotherapy with purine nucleoside analogs either given alone or with rituximab are the mainstay therapy for newly diagnosed symptomatic patients leading to five-year survival rates in excess of 90% of patients. Despite this progress, our important work continues because there is still no cure for HCL, some patients do not respond to treatment at all, and many patients relapse at some point after treatment.