Physicians' Corner

Opinion: What Say You, Dr. Expert?

Viewpoints from Noted CLL Experts

Making Sensible Decisions About Stem Cell Transplants

The clinical research community is slowly coming to grips with the question of when a stem cell transplant makes sense in CLL. The mortality and GVHD risks associated with transplants are definite deterrents but there are substantial survival risks, too, in not taking definitive action when faced with aggressive, poor-prognostic or refractory disease. Four of our favorite CLL experts from major research centers have been generous in sharing their personal viewpoints on the question. You can read their opinions in our article, "What Say You, Dr. Expert?" (9/10/07)

Steroid-Campath Combinations

An Expert Looks at Therapies for p53 Defective CLL

A Sledgehammer To Be Used Wisely

A defect in the p53 gene is a poor prognostic marker and predicts aggressive disease. Patients who have this defect tend to respond poorly to standard chemotherapy. Finding new and better ways of treating CLL patients with p53 defects is therefore a major priority in CLL clinical research. In his article, Steroid-Campath Combinations, Dr. Andrew Pettitt of the Royal Liverpool University Hospital evaluates agents that have promise in this area and addresses the important questions of when to treat such patients and how far to go with the treatment. (8/31/06)

New Therapeutic Agent

Honokiol: An Interview with the Experts

We Talk to Researchers at Harvard and Emory

Following up on our review of a recent important paper on the possible use of honokiol from magnolia bark extract in CLL therapy, we contacted the researchers to get the inside scoop. This compound has the potential for significant efficacy in CLL, and its use in traditional Chinese & Japanese medicine suggests few adverse effects. Dr. David Frank of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Jack Arbiser of Emory School of Medicine answer some of the questions that interest us in this email interview. (6/8/05)

Expert Viewpoint

Progress in Finding a Cure

Are We There Yet?

Professor Terry Hamblin needs no introduction to CLL patients. His seminal work on the prognostic value of the IgVH gene mutation status has become a cornerstone in the risk stratification of CLL patients. In his article, Are We There Yet?, Dr. Hamblin discusses criteria for initiating treatment as well as what treatment can and cannot do for the patient. He goes on to review the current status of combination chemo-immunotherapy clinical trials. Read this article for a candid assessment of where we are in the campaign to cure CLL. (1/26/05)

Familial CLL

Insight, Advances and Research

Tracking Down Clues in Population Data

Dr. Tim Call is a hematologist/oncologist at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. He has done much important work in the area of familial CLL and lymphoma, and is responsible for developing a database at Mayo Clinic on the familial incidence of B-cell malignancies including CLL, B-cell lymphomas and a few related diseases. You might recall his name as an author on the Mayo Best Practices article - Current Approach to Diagnosis and Management of CLL. More details about him are provided in his official Mayo Clinic profile. We are pleased that he has written this article, Familial CLL, addressed to the patient community. We strongly encourage that our readers register in one of the recommended databases when appropriate. (7/13/04)

Fludarabine, FISH and Prognostic Indicators

The View from the FDA

An Expert Weighs In

As one of the authors of a paper recently reviewed in CLL Topics ( Fludarabine Monotherapy Is No Longer the Gold Standard, Dr. Gerald Marti is involved in an important area of research in CLL. He has corresponded with us expressing his informed viewpoint on some topics of great interest to us. With his permission, we have reproduced below a recent communication. Dr. Marti is a scientist in the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research and works in the Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, a part of the Division of Cellular and Gene Therapies. His opinions, expressed clearly in Fludarabine, FISH and Prognostic Indicators, should carry weight in your conversations with your physician or oncologist. We would like to thank Dr. Marti for providing this input in a form that is useful to patients. (5/26/04)