Pipeline

I've been interested in new treatments for Follicular NHL almost since the day I was diagnosed. Especially after the initial shock wore off, and it became clear that I had some time, I really got into the research being done on fNHL. I find great hope in seeing what might be coming in the future, and I know that some people are reading because they feel the same way.

With that introduction, I want to make you aware of this: an article in Current Opinion in Hematology, published just a few days ago. The article is called "New Therapeutic Targets and Drugs in non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma," written by Ahmed Sawas, Catherine Diefenbach, and Owen O'Conner from the NYU Cancer Institute (and made available thanks to the wonderful people at Patients Against Lymphoma).

The article reviews some of the most research on NHL. It doesn't focus only on Follicular, and it doesn't present all research in the pipeline (that is, under development, before approval). The reason for this, as the authors say, is because there are so many treatments being developed that it would impossible to put them all in one article. (How's that for hopeful? Even if you don't read the rest of the article, it's worth it just to read that statement).

The article is very thick, written for other medical professionals, but it says some wonderful things about what's being developed.

Here's what stands out for me:

The authors make the point that the reason for the explosion in the number of potential treatments is because we now know so much more about the biology of lymphoma -- where it comes from (though not necessarily what causes it), how it works, what's important about its environment, how it differes from normal cells, etc. So as great as it is to have all of these treatments right now, we have to believe this is only the beginning. The way science works is that playing around with these treatments will inevitably lead to greater understanding of not just the treatments themselves, but also more about the way lymphoma works. That's going to happen. Expect even more potential treatments in the future.

As for the individual treatments and their classes discussed in the article, what stands out for me most is
Kinase pathway teatment called CAL-101. It's being tested on several types of NHL, including Follicular, and I'm familiar with it because several people in my support group are being treated with it (including one whose doctor gave her no hope after a two failed chemos and a failed bone marrow transplant, but who went for a second opinion, was told "There's always hope," and was put on CAL-101. She's been doing well for almost a year now). On top of all that, CAL-101 has a 62% Overall Response Rate, with the median not yet reached (which means it continues to help people in the study).

There's much more to the article, but that should give you a sense of why it's worth wading through. Lots more to look forward to.