A Life-Saving Clinical Trial for Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Division of Hematology-Oncology
RESEARCH NEWS: A Life-Saving Clinical Trial for Mantle Cell Lymphoma
Michael Williams, MD, chief of Hematology-Oncology, with patient Jim Bryan.
For patients with lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), promising new clinical trials are underway at UVA — trials made possible by work being done in UVA’s own labs.
“So far, the results of these new drugs for patients who have not responded to traditional chemotherapy have been dramatic — in most cases with very few side effects,” says Michael E. Williams, MD, Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology. “We’re seeing real progress in improving outcomes and survival for patients.”
One of Dr. Williams’ patients, Jim Bryant (with Dr. Williams, above), was diagnosed with terminal mantle cell lymphoma, a form of blood cancer that affects the lymph system, blood and bone marrow, in 2007. Jim’s wife, Meg, discovered a clinical trial at UVA, led by Dr. Williams, for a new drug to treat mantle cell lymphoma, and encouraged Jim to enroll. The trial is evaluating Ibruinib, an oral medication that is more convenient and more easily tolerated by most patients than traditional, infusion-based chemotherapy.
Jim Bryan’s story, with commentary by Dr. Williams, was featured in a video produced by UVA Cancer Center and made available last fall on UVA Health System’s You Tube channel.