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Renewed focus on a national initiative to cure cancer
For more than 66 years The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has dedicated its energy and resources to finding cures for blood cancers, investing more than $1 billion over that time. Last night in his State of the Union address, President Obama appointed Vice President Joe Biden to take the lead in a “moon shot” mission to cure cancer. We at LLS agree the time is right.
“It’s personal for everybody,” the Vice President later said in a statement.
Is a Clinical Trial Right For You?
Because it can take up to 15 years for a new blood cancer drug to be studied and made available for doctors to prescribe, some patients opt for clinical trials as a way to gain early access to a promising treatment. Advancing new cancer therapies requires years of extensive clinical investigation, but clinical trials come with no guarantees. "A drug is allowed to enter the clinical trial phase based on scientific evidence including cell and animal studies, but it's still considered experimental and unproven.
New Study Shows 9/11 Responders Have Higher Rates of Leukemia
All 9/11 responders put their own lives at risk to save others from the events that occurred at the World Trade Center (WTC) on September 11, 2001, in New York City. Since then, several studies have shown elevated rates of cancers such as multiple myeloma, prostate cancer and thyroid cancer among first responders and those who worked nearby.
PD1 blockade alone and in combination with BTK/ITK inhibition in patients with refractory and recurrent primary central nervous system lymphoma
We study a rare and aggressive brain cancer called primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL). We are using an emerging knowledge of the genetic basis of PCNSL to develop novel clinical trials exploring the use of targeted and immunotherapy agents in PCNSL patients. These trials include assessment of the activity of a PD-1 inhibitor by itself and in combination with a BTK inhibitor in PCNSL patients, as well as identifying any mechanisms of treatment resistance that may develop.Sailing In One Direction to End Childhood Cancer
In the treatment of children with acute myeloid leukemia “We have plateaued. The tools in our toolbox are all sledgehammers.”
This grim assessment was how Dr. E. Anders Kolb, of Nemours/Alfred I DuPont Hospital for Children, characterized the state of treatment for children with this devastating form of leukemia.
Dr. Kolb was among a group of pediatric oncologists to join The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in hosting an event in Atlanta this week to discuss LLS’s new $50 million Children’s Initiative, a multi-faceted effort to:
Predictors of response to therapy in A051902, a US Intergroup study of duvelisib+CHO(E)P vs CC-486+CHO(E)P vs CHO(E)P in peripheral T-cell lymphoma
We are evaluating if adding duvelisib or azacitidine to standard chemotherapy increases the complete remission rate compared to chemotherapy alone in peripheral T-cell lymphoma. We believe that adding novel agents to chemotherapy will most benefit lymphomas with a T-follicular helper phenotype. We will also study if tests for lymphoma cells in the blood can predict outcomes. We hope these novel therapies will cure more patients and we can identify who is most likely to benefit from them.Reflecting on a Year of Accomplishments and Looking Forward to 2017
LLS President and CEO Louis J. DeGennaro shares his optimism about LLS’s role and promise for patients.
On Pride Day, LGBTQI+ Cancer Survivors Share Their Stories
After Spencer graduated from college in 2015, a friend noticed that he had very swollen lymph nodes on his neck.
As he sought medical advice, many healthcare professionals attributed his symptoms to being a side effect of a gender-affirming procedure he had a few months earlier (Spencer is a transgender man). It took several months and numerous appointments before he was diagnosed with stage three Hodgkin lymphoma.
Support at Your Fingertips: Try a Discussion Board
Having cancer can be a lonely experience, and it’s not always so easy to find others with a similar diagnosis. Even if you could, you might not always want to talk about everything face to face.
Sometimes an online discussion board is just what you need.
The Fruits of Our Funding
Advances in cancer research seem to be occurring at dizzying speed these days.
Doxorubicin
Doxorubicin is FDA approved to treat people who have some kinds of blood cancer, including acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloblastic leukemia, and Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Etoposide
Etoposide is used to treat people who have certain types of blood cancer including Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It is FDA approved for some types of lung and testicular cancer. This medicine often causes a temporary loss of hair. After treatment with etoposide has ended, normal hair growth should return.
Methotrexate
Methotrexate is FDA approved, alone or with other drugs, to treat people who have acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that has spread to the central nervous system (CNS) or to prevent ALL from spreading to the CNS. It is also FDA approved to treat people who have advanced non-Hodgkin lymphoma and advanced mycosis fungoides. It may also be used to treat people with other types of blood cancer.
Bexarotene
Bexarotene is FDA approved to treat people who have skin problems arising from cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) in patients who are refractory for at least one prior systemic therapy. It may be used after other drugs have been tried and the tumor is still a problem.
Because of You, We're Helping to Cure Cancer
Here at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), we remain laser-focused on continuing to drive forward our mission. In fact, we are amplifying our efforts to help patients and caregivers access the care they need, during the coronavirus crisis and beyond. Thankfully, we have a vibrant community of dedicated volunteers across the country who are just as relentless as we are about making a difference in the lives of blood cancer patients and their families.
Panelists Discuss the AML Patient Experience
What is AML? What research is underway? And what resources are available to patients?
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society recently joined up with Patient Power and the MDS Alliance to host an AML Awareness Day and answer those questions.
The April 21 webcast was moderated by Carol Preston, host of Patient Power, an online portal offering cancer information for both patients and professionals. Preston is also a chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) survivor.

One More 'Ologist'
After staring down Stage IV non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2016, I AM HERE, and I am grateful beyond measure. However, I am learning that the treatments that saved my life came at a high cost, and that in its own way survivorship is the hardest part of what I and my family now call, “the adventure.” 'The adventure' is certainly never what we imagined it would be.