Leukemia is a common type of blood cancer, and there are approximately 259,889
[i] people in the United States living with, or in remission from, leukemia, according to the
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). The term leukemia is a general term that includes four major diseases: acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
Recognizing the impact that blood cancers have on the American population, Innovation.org highlights important research into leukemia. Click on the links below to read more about leukemia treatments and research.
Introduction to Leukemia
Click here to learn more about leukemia, including treatments and progress in current research.
Then & Now – Leukemia
It's easy to forget, but not very long ago the treatments we might today take for granted hadn't yet been developed.
Click here to read about past and present treatment options for leukemia.
Patient Perspectives
Today there are treatments for leukemia that greatly ease the burden for those living with the disease and increase survival rates. Click on the links below to read thoughts from patients living with leukemia and to learn how advances in treatments impact patient lives.
Milestones in Leukemia research
Click here to see a timeline highlighting key milestones in research and treatments for leukemia and other rare diseases.
New Medicines in Development
Researchers have made many advances in successfully developing treatments for leukemia. Medical advances in genetic studies have allowed researchers to develop more effective, targeted treatments for leukemia. As a result, the five-year survival rate for patients suffering from leukemia has more than quadrupled in the past 49 years. In the 1960s, a patient with leukemia had a 14% chance of living five years. By 1999-2006, the overall relative survival rate had increased to 55.3%.
There are currently 108 medicines in development for leukemia. Furthermore, several vaccines are now being studied for use against chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Read below for information about recent advances in leukemia treatments.
Click here to access our medicines in development database, which contains information about drugs currently in clinical trials or at FDA for review.
Innovation in Leukemia – Discoverers Awards
Each year, PhRMA honors pharmaceutical research scientists whose research and development of new medicines have greatly benefited humankind, and whose dedication and interest in improving the quality of life exemplify the best in the research industry with the Discoverers Award.
The Story of Gleevec®The 2004 Discoverers Award went to Elisabeth Buchdunger, Ph.D. and Juerg Zimmerman, Ph.D., for their contributions to the discovery of Gleevec
®, a groundbreaking treatment for drug for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and the first drug approved that uses molecular targeting to shut down the signal of a protein that causes cancer while sparing patients many of the debilitating side effects of traditional cancer treatments. Gleevec was approved by the FDA in 2001, merely 10 weeks after is was submitted for approval, and it is now being tested against other types of cancer, including gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a rare solid tumor, brain cancers, and soft tissue carcomas.
The Story of Purinethol®
The 1987 Discoverers Award went to George H. Hitchings, Ph.D., for his contributions to the discovery of the anti-leukemia drug mercaptopurine (Purinethol
®). Mercaptopurine is one of the drugs used to treat leukemia patients, many of whom are children. It and other drugs have played a key role in improving survival rates among leukemia patients and made this type of cancer more treatable.
Click here for a list of all of the Discoverers Awards since 1987.
Featured Studies and Reports
As part of its ongoing effort to encourage new research and pharmaceutical innovation, Innovation.org highlights key studies and reports into critical disease areas. Read about recent research and advances in leukemia and other cancers in the resources below.
Last updated September 2011
