Abstract
Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is the most common leukaemia in the Western world. Historically, CLL patients have received prednisone- or chlorambucil-containing regimens, resulting in modest responses and a slim chance of long-term survival. The addition of purine nucleoside analogues, specifically fludarabine, to the armamentarium has significantly improved efficacy in treatment-naive or heavily pretreated CLL patients. Since the 1980s, fludarabine monotherapy has demonstrated an improvement in response over historical chemotherapeutic agents. Single-agent fludarabine therapy has expanded into a combination regimen containing cyclophosphamide and has further evolved to incorporate monoclonal antibodies. A review of the fludarabine literature shows that these advancements in fludarabine-containing therapy have enhanced the overall patient response with a potential increase in survival time, thus representing progress towards a superior treatment for CLL.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
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Review
MeSH terms
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Administration, Oral
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Aged
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Alemtuzumab
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Animals
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Antibodies, Monoclonal / administration & dosage
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Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
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Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
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Antibodies, Neoplasm / administration & dosage
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Antineoplastic Agents / administration & dosage
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Antineoplastic Agents / pharmacokinetics
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Antineoplastic Agents / therapeutic use*
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Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating / administration & dosage
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Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols / therapeutic use*
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Cyclophosphamide / administration & dosage
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Drug Administration Schedule
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Drug Evaluation, Preclinical
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Humans
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Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / drug therapy*
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Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / mortality
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Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
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Rituximab
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Survival Analysis
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Vidarabine / administration & dosage
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Vidarabine / analogs & derivatives*
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Vidarabine / pharmacokinetics
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Vidarabine / therapeutic use
Substances
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Antibodies, Monoclonal
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Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
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Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived
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Antibodies, Neoplasm
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Antineoplastic Agents
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Antineoplastic Agents, Alkylating
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Alemtuzumab
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Rituximab
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Cyclophosphamide
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Vidarabine
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fludarabine