The results do not indicate a definitive cure, but those responsible for the experiment are optimistic. “We believe this medicine is remarkably effective and hope it will be available to all patients who need it,” says study leader Ghayas Issa.
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Acute myeloid leukemia is the most common blood cancer in adults, with around 120 cases per year, and three-year survival is barely 25%. The disease hits the blood cell factory and causes the rampant production of defective cells.
The drug does not work in all cases. The researchers focused on two genetic subtypes in which a protein facilitates the progression of leukemia. The medicine binds to this protein and inhibits it, thanks to its chemical recipe. Some pharmaceutical companies are developing pills using this same tactic, so the success of Revumenib would be good news for the hundreds of thousands of people around the world living with acute leukemia.
“I am encouraged by these results, which suggest that Revumenib may be an effective oral targeted therapy for patients with acute leukemia caused by these genetic changes. These response rates, especially the residual disease clearance rates, are the highest we have seen with any monotherapy used for these subsets of resistant leukemia,” explained Issa.
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