Weekly dose reduces targeted drug's side effects, but not its activity against acute lymphocytic leukemia

A potent chemotherapy agent wrapped within a monoclonal antibody selectively destroys the malignant cells responsible for acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) in either weekly or monthly dosing, researchers report at the 54th ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition. "The CD22 antigen is a specific marker for B-cell malignancies and is expressed in more than 90 percent of patients who have acute lymphocytic leukemia," said Susan O'Brien, M.D., professor in The University of Texas MD Anderson Department of Leukemia. "The antigen's specificity for B-cell cancers makes it a promising therapeutic target for intervention." Read more here.