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| Amgen's blinatumomab allows T-cells to attach to an immature B-cell and destroy it. |
CANCER DIGEST – Dec. 4, 2014 – The FDA has approved Blincyto (blinatumomab) to treat patients with a rare type of leukemia, called Philadelphia chromosome-negative precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-cell ALL).
Precursor B-cell ALL is a rapidly growing type of leukemia in which the bone marrow makes too many immature B-cells that are not yet functional in the immune system. The National Cancer Institute estimates that 6,020 Americans will be diagnosed with this form of leukemia and 1,440 will die from it in 2014. The Philadelphia chromosome is an abnormality that sometimes occurs in the bone marrow cells of leukemia patients and is linked to chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML).
