Hematologist Cuneo: ‘An oral therapy to live with chronic lymphatic leukemia’

A chronic therapy to address chronic lymphatic leukemia and allow patients to improve their quality of life. This is the case of acalabrutin, the drug, to be taken orally, for which the Italian drug agency has recently approved reimbursement. This pathology and related therapies were discussed in Milan during the AstraZeneca conference with Antonio Cuneo, director of the hematology operating unit, University Hospital of Ferrara, who explains: “Thanks to chronic therapy we can guarantee the patient a coexistence with the disease which remains under control. Side effects such as fatigue, headache, cough, small signs of bruising in the arms and legs, however, tend to appear in the early stages and then disappear, guaranteeing a very good quality of life. Oral therapies allow limited access to hospitals, an even more important advantage in a pandemic period like this “. Among the characteristics of chronic lymphocytic leukemia is the fact that it is often latent and does not require immediate treatment. For this, Cuneo underlines: “It is always important to communicate to patients when it is time to start treatment, many patients can stay several years, even more than a decade without the need for therapy. These people usually have a moderately high white blood cell count. but the situation is stable and does not give symptoms. In these cases they have to rely on an experienced haematologist to monitor the situation. The need to start therapy is noted by the rapid growth of white blood cells, it refers to a doubling of the white blood cell count in six months. When the disease accelerates, in addition to the growth of lymphocytes, an increase in the volume of the lymph nodes of the spleen is noted. In these cases the patient usually feels symptoms and it is time to intervene. Tiredness, anemia, fever and night sweats are other obvious symptoms “, he concludes.