Progress Against Leukemia, Lymphoma and Myeloma (NAPSA)—There’s encouraging newsfor the 100,000 people in the U.S. who will be diagnosed with leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma annually. There has been a substantial incremental improvement in managing immune system to suppress leukemia, lymphoma, or myeloma progression and to minimize the effects on normaltissues. The types of immunotherapy being explored include antibody The Leukemia & treatment, immune . cell adminis- Lymphoma Society™ tration and vaccine development. Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-produced Fighting Blood-Related Cancers these canore cers which originate in bone marrow and lymphatic tis- sue. In addition to the relative proteins that can be infused into an and cure rates. a drug and a monoclonal antibody showed a high response rate in patients with low-grade or follicu- success of current chemotherapy and radiotherapy, several new areas of research may one day be responsible for better remission According to 2000 Facts, a booklet published yearly by The Leukemia and LymphomaSociety, promising therapiesinclude: New drug development. Several important new drugs or new uses for existing drugs have improved cure rates or remission duration for some patients with leukemia. A promising new drug, Glivec, is under study for the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia. It specifically targets the leukemic cells and has no apparent effect on most other cells. New data on thalidomide for the treatment of myelomaindicate it can temporarily stop the progression of advanced myeloma in some patients. Immunotherapy. This treatment is designed to use the appropriate patient. Combined therapy involving lar lymphoma. Blood and marrow transplan- tation. Researchers are developing improved methods of transplanting stem cells from donors not perfectly matched with recipients. This technique may broaden the availability of transplantation. Also, studies have shown that the blood in placenta and umbili- cal cords contain sufficient stem cells to be used to transplant chil- dren who might benefit from this procedure. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society fights leukemia, lym- phoma, Hodgkin’s Disease and myeloma through research, educa- tion, patient services and advocacy. For more information or for free literature, you can visit www.leukemia-lymphoma. org or call 1 (800) 955-4572.
