Professors Simon Rule, Peter Hillmen and John Gribben are leading UK clinical researchers with a special interest in CLL. In this brief news report from this year's EHA meeting in Milan they share insights into the promising future for CLL treatment as greater understanding of the biology of this complex disease brings with it an increasing range of potential therapies. Video youtube.com/watch?v=SxYBcO9...
These better tolerated therapies, providing improved responses for many patients are becoming available in UK clinical trials and await regulatory approval for NHS use.
This heralds an exciting time for CLL, but new treatments bring new economic challenges. Many of these novel therapies target very specific cellular activity, reducing the toxic side-effects of the chemoimmunotherapy regimes currently forming the mainstay of CLL treatment in the UK. Unlike chemo, they require long-term daily administration with consequent increased costs and implications for access. The specialist clinicians in the video address the importance of empowering patients to lobby for better access to these transformational therapies in today's challenging financial climate.
Video youtu.be/SxYBcO9Y8VQ