Improved treatment for leukemia and lymphoma | OSUCCC - James

A groundbreaking new leukemia and lymphoma treatment could be available to patients across the world thanks in part to an Ohio State clinical trial.
The new drug nemtabrutinib could change the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) by helping patients reduce the risk of relapse, which can happen when standard therapies become less effective over time.
Nemtabrutinib works differently by binding to enzymes in the bodies of CLL and NHL patients, and remain in place even when mutations occur.
The drug, which is taken as a pill, underwent rigorous testing at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, where Jennifer Woyach, MD, and her hematology colleagues worked to determine the best ways to administer the promising treatment to patients to maximize effectiveness while limiting side effects.
“We led a phase one, first-in-human study to look for the best dose of the drug, and also to look to see how effective it is,” Woyach says. “This type of targeted therapy doesn't affect as many other types of cells.”
CLL and NHL are cancers of the white blood cells that can impact patients in a number of ways.
“They primarily will affect the lymph nodes, but can also affect the bone marrow, the blood or other organs,” Woyach says.
Ohio State hematologists have long been on the cutting edge of CLL and NHL research, studying multiple drugs at all levels of clinical research. As an NCI-designated Comprehensvie Cancer Center, the OSUCCC - James houses research and care in the same facility to provide many patients with early access to innovative new treatments.
“This research extends from the laboratory where we're first looking for new targets all the way up to these phase-three studies that get these types of drugs approved, and everything in between,” Woyach says. “So, patients who come to The James at Ohio State may have access to lots of different types of clinical trials for their diseases.”
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