Rituxan®, Fludara®, Cytoxan®, and Novantrone® Highly Active in CLL

Researchers from Spain have reported that the combination of Rituxan® (rituximab), Fludara® (fludarabine), Cytoxan® (cyclophosphamide), and Novantrone® (mitoxantrone) is highly active in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The details of this study appeared in an early online publication on August 24, 2009 in the Journal of Clinical Oncology.[1]

Currently, the most common drug combination for the initial treatment of patients with CLL is Fludara, Cytoxan, and Rituxan. At the 2007 meeting of the American Society of Hematology, researchers from Spain presented the preliminary results of the current study demonstrating high activity with little increased toxicity with the addition of Novantrone to standard Fludara, Cytoxan, and Rituxan followed by Rituxan maintenance. However, at the same meeting, researchers from the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center presented retrospective data suggesting that the addition of Novantrone added little to overall response rates compared with Fludara, Cytoxan, and Rituxan.

What are the symptoms lead to diagnosis of cancer?

For most people with cancer, a persistent symptom is what prompted them to seek medical attention that eventually led to a diagnosis of cancer. What symptoms you experience that brought the diagnosis of cancer?