In a ground-breaking study that was published in HemaSphere, the MVR Cancer Centre in Kozhikode and the Bai Jerbai Wadia Hospital for Children in Mumbai showed encouraging outcomes when employing antibody-based immunotherapy to treat pediatric cancer patients with recurrent leukemia. Children with variations of the condition that are difficult to treat now have new hope thanks to this revolutionary method that has demonstrated significant success.
The most prevalent cancer in children is leukemia, a kind of blood cancer marked by abnormal white blood cell development. Chemotherapy and other conventional medicines are frequently ineffective in treating leukemia that returns after first treatment. Children with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who do not respond to standard treatments often have a 15% to 30% survival probability.
Nineteen pediatric patients were treated with two particular antibody therapies—blinatumomab (Blina) and inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO)—during the research, which ran from May 2021 to August 2023. These treatments, which use antibodies to precisely target and kill cancer cells while limiting damage to healthy cells, mark a dramatic departure from conventional chemotherapy. By using this technique, the immune system is trained to identify and target leukemia cells more successfully.
Dr. Prashant Hiwarkar of Wadia Hospital said that the study’s findings were quite positive. Nineteen of the treated youngsters (18 out of 19) had cancer that was in remission. Out of them, 16 out of 18 or 84% underwent a bone marrow transplant as a curative procedure. Compared to the previous rate of 15–30% for patients with similar illnesses who did not respond to conventional chemotherapy, the overall survival rate for this group improved significantly to 77%.
According to Dr. Hiwarkar, the study also shown that the novel treatment strategy is safe, with no patients reporting serious adverse effects. The utilisation of antibody-based medicines has several benefits, including their readily formulated nature, regulated production processes, and less reliance on substantial medical infrastructure.
Dr. Minnie Bodhanwala, CEO of Wadia Hospital, stressed the significance of increasing the accessibility of these cutting-edge treatments. She emphasized that although leukemia that is resistant to chemotherapy poses a great difficulty, antibody-based therapies provide new hope and the possibility of better results. The report emphasizes how governments, nonprofits, and pharmaceutical corporations must work together to make sure that those in need can get these promising medications.
In general, this research signifies a noteworthy progression in the management of relapsed childhood leukemia, potentially signifying a sea change in the battle against this difficult illness.
SOURCE :
TIMES OF INDIA
