VA Researchers Illuminate a New Blood Cancer, a Novel Type of CLL

In the case of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with prolymphocytic progression, a newly defined and very rare type of cancer, the scale of the VA and the number of patients it treats with leukemia allowed VA researchers to describe the characteristics and progression of the disease and begin to understand how it responds to current therapies.

What Matters in Survival, Treatment of Lymphoid Cancers?

Oncologists balance the most effective treatment against the likelihood of adverse effects for every patient with cancer. Generally, the assumption is that older patients and those with more comorbidities and poorer performance status will experience more negative effects, including potentially fatal toxicity, from aggressive treatment. A study presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in June calls into question this assumption for at least some patients and specific malignancies.

A Rare Cancer Prompts Sleuthing at the VA; New Options for MDS

VA researchers solved a mystery involving younger veterans who developed unusual and deadly cancers. They determined that patients currently using certain drugs, thiopurines, had triple the risk of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) on an adjusted basis compared to those never exposed. The risks resolved with discontinuation.