Study offers reassurance to leukaemia patients
A clinical trial into the most common form of adult leukaemia has established that patients taking an aggressive but effective drug combination can return to a normal quality of life once they complete treatment.
Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research’s CLL4 trial offers the most complete information yet on the quality of life of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). The multinational study led by The Institute of Cancer Research included data from 777 patients diagnosed between 1999 and 2004.
Patients in the study were given one of three chemotherapy treatments – fludarabine, the ‘gentler’ chlorambucil, or a more toxic but more effective combination of fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC).
FC has since become the standard treatment in combination with monoclonal antibody drug rituximab as it prolongs survival, however there had been concerns that FC-based regimens may have unacceptable effects on patient’s quality of life.
Patients in the study regularly reported on key indicators of their physical, social and emotional quality of life for five years after beginning treatment. The researchers found that in the first few months of treatment FC did have more adverse impact on quality of life than treatment with other drugs. But in the long term, quality of life is just as good. Moreover, the quality of life of patients who achieved long remissions after treatment was similar to that of the normal population when matched by age and sex.
