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Article: Arsenic-Based Therapy Benefits Leukemia Patients.(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- FDA Consumer
- Article date:
- January 1, 2001
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2001 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A new arsenic-based drug may benefit some leukemia patients for whom standard therapy has failed. The Food and Drug Administration approved Trisenox (arsenic trioxide) to treat patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) who have not responded to, or have relapsed after the use of, trans-retinoic acid and anthracyline-based chemotherapy, which is considered the first-line therapy. Trisenox was approved for marketing only three years after the study of the drug first started in the United States--the fastest development of any cancer therapy.
APL is a cancer in which abnormal white blood cells in bone marrow and blood accumulate quickly, resulting in anemia ...