New leukaemia drug boosts survival rate to 90% and could eventually replace invasive chemical treatment
Ibrutinib drug trial showed better rates of survival than chemotherapy
Patients in Australia could have access to Ibrutinib within a year
Trial showed higher rate of people entered remission than chemotherapy
Breakthrough alternative for people with resistance to chemotherapy
By DANIEL MILLS
PUBLISHED: 00:47 GMT, 4 June 2014 | UPDATED: 09:50 GMT, 4 June 2014

A breakthrough international trial of a new cancer drug has given researchers renewed hope in the fight against leukaemia, with one Australian doctor suggesting it could end traditional chemotherapy treatments for good.

The results of a trial on 391 patients showed the drug Ibrutinib gave patients fighting a type of slow growing blood cancer called Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) a 90 per cent chance of survival, eight higher than the 81 per cent who survive on chemotherapy treatment.

What's more, the drug is less invasive than traditional forms of radiation, and is an alternative for patients whose cancer cells have built up a resistance to chemotherapy. Results from the trial also showed that four out of every 10 patients entered remission within a year, compared to four in 100 on a traditional course of radiation.

The trial has Dr Con Tam of Melbourne's Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre confident that Ibrutinib will eventually replace chemotherapy as the main treatment for leukaemia patients. He told AAP: 'We might not need chemotherapy at all.'

Dr Tam said patients on the international trial responded quicker to the drug than chemotherapy and showed fewer side effects. What was also particularly encouraging was that patients who do not respond to, or have a resistance to chemotherapy treatments, now have an alternative.

'These resistant patients have no other treatment option,' the co-author of a New England Journal of Medicine report said. 'This pill works extremely well when chemotherapy stops working.'

The drug, which works by by disabling an enzyme crucial for leukaemia's survival, is currently being fast tracked for approval in the US and it could be just a year before Australians have access to it.

Although one of the rarest forms of cancer, CCL is the most common type of leukaemia and the older you are the higher the chance you have of developing it. Almost 80 per cent of all new cases are diagnosed in people over the age of 60.

It occurs more frequently in men than women, and because it develops slowly, many people don't show symptoms in its early stages.

Dr Tam said hundreds of Australians a year will benefit from the US-developed drug when it comes to Australia next year, but it's unlikely most will be able to afford it until it is listed on Australia's pharmaceutical benefits scheme in two to three years.

LEUKAEMIA AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR AUSTRALIANS LIVING WITH IT
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) is a slow growing leukaemia that affects specialised white blood cells.
Its symptoms include swollen lymph nodes, pain or discomfort under the ribs, anaemia, excessive sweating and weight loss
About 30 per cent of people diagnosed with CLL never require treatment, while for 70 per cent the disease can spread and multiply
There are about 2600 of Leukaemia diagnoses each year, 1100 of which are chronic lymphocytic leukaemias
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