New Hope For Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in partnership with the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and Celgene Corporation, have just launched a phase 1 human clinical trial to better assess the safety and efficacy of a novel monoclonal antibody for patients dealing with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

"The primary goal of this phase I clinical trial is to evaluate whether cirmtuzumab is a safe and well-tolerated cancer stem cell-targeted agent in patients with CLL," said Jamieson, chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine, associate professor of medicine, director of stem cell research at UC San Diego Moores Cancer Center, deputy director of the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center and the principal investigator of the cirmtuzumab clinical trial, in a news release.

Researchers note that CLL is the most common form of blood cancer found in adults with over thousands of new cases in the United States. The new antibody that researchers are working on would target ROR1 proteins used by embryonic cells during early development and the protein is also exploited by cancer cells to promote overall growth and metastasis.

For the study, researchers examined patients with relapsed or refractory CLL who received an intravenous infusion every 14 days, followed by regular monitoring and clinic visits to assess efficacy and identify and manage adverse effects.

With future studies regarding drugs like cirmtuzumab, new drugs could provide effective treatments for new types of anti-cancer therapies.

As it stands, the National Cancer Institute reports that 15,720 new cases of CLL along with 4,600 deaths from the deaths are reported in the United States each year, alone.