WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., Aug. 19, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Today the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Seattle Genetics’ Adcetris
to treat two types of rare blood cancers – Hodgkin lymphoma
and anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL).
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The drug is approved for Hodgkin lymphoma patients after failure
of a stem cell transplant or two chemotherapy treatments and for
ALCL patients after failure of at least one multi-agent
chemotherapy treatment.
“This is a great advance for patients battling both of these
diseases,” said Hildy Dillon, Senior Vice President of Patient
Services for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. “These are both
considered very curable diseases but there is a population of
patients from both diseases for whom treatment has not been
effective.”
Hodgkin lymphoma has an 86 percent survival and ALCL has an 80
percent cure rate.
“But for those people who don’t respond well these can be very
difficult cancers to cure. This advance gives new hope to that
group of patients,” Dillon said.
Dillon added that Seattle Genetics should be commended for
investing in a therapy for a very small subgroup of patients who
don’t respond to standard therapy and for whom there were very
limited options until now.
There are nearly 9,000 new cases of Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed
each year and 3,000 new cases of ALCL, and both diseases primarily
impact children in their late teens and young adults.
Adcetris is a targeted therapy linking a tumor-targeting
antibody to a chemotherapy drug with the goal of limiting side
effects.
About The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society® (LLS) is the
world’s largest voluntary health agency dedicated to blood cancer.
The LLS mission: Cure leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and
myeloma, and improve the quality of life of patients and their
families.
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