Emerging drugs for rarer chronic lymphoid leukemias.
BACKGROUND
Rarer indolent lymphoid leukemias include well defined mature B-cell and T-cell neoplasm with widely varying natural history and specific morphological, immunophenotypic and molecular characteristics. Among these are prolymphocytic leukemia (PLL), hairy cell leukemia (HCL) and its variants, large granular lymphocyte leukemia (LGLL) and adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL).


OBJECTIVE
To present current therapies and emerging drugs potentially useful in the treatment of rarer chronic lymphoid leukemias.


METHODS
After searching MEDLINE, PubMed and the Current Contents database, and conference proceedings from the previous 3 years of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the European Society of Hematology (EHA) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) were searched manually; articles written in English and additional relevant publications were then selected.


CONCLUSIONS
New drugs including monoclonal antibodies (mAbs), new purine analogs, small molecules targeting specific molecular targets and other agents are included. Future research should focus on the novel therapeutic strategies based on the molecular pathogenic mechanisms and the development of new targeted therapies for each distinct chronic lymphoid leukemia.
Robak
Tadeusz
T
Medical University of Lodz, Copernicus Memorial Hospital, Department of Hematology, 93-510 Lodz, ul. Ciołkowskiego 2, Poland. robaktad@csk.umed.lodz.pl
D000818:Animals; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D006801:Humans; D007945:Leukemia, Lymphoid / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology
D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D015507:Drugs, Investigational