Complete Response with Oblimersen Combination Improves Survival of CLL Patients, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center Study

ATLANTA - Relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients who had a complete response to combination therapy that included the drug oblimersen survived significantly longer than patients treated with chemotherapy alone, a team led by researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center reports at the 49th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology. Patients who achieved a complete response with oblimersen have survived so well that a median survival time cannot yet be calculated, but it is estimated to exceed 49 months. Those who achieved complete response with chemotherapy alone had a median survival time of 35 months.