Idelalisib may represent promising treatment for stubborn blood cancers

A pill that suppresses a key regulator of cancer growth may provide hope to relapsed leukemia and lymphoma patients running out of treatment options for their aggressive, treatment-resistant disease, according to three reports published online this week in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology and reported by EurekAlert.

Patients with blood cancer are typically administered a combination of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, the latter using the body's own immune system to help fight disease, as a first line of treatment. While chemotherapy has traditionally been successful in destroying cancer cells, it is accompanied by many harmful side effects and patients typically develop resistance, prompting researchers to investigate new targeted therapies that may be able to block the production of cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed.

Attractive potential for idelalisib