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CAR-T Immunotherapy Showing Positive Results

This week, positive data from a Kite Pharma CAR-T immunotherapy clinical trial was released showing that more than one-third of refractory aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) patients in the study showed no signs of the disease after six months.

Since 2015, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society has been funding this study through its collaboration with Kite Pharma, a biotechnology company focused on immunotherapy.

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FAQs: Proposed federal spending cuts and blood cancer research and care

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has heard great concerns from patients, caregivers, volunteers, healthcare professionals, researchers, community organizations and others who are fearful and confused by NIH spending cuts and other policies being proposed and implemented in Washington. 

Breaking News

Another First: FDA Approves Car T-Immunotherapy for Treatment of Aggressive Form of Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today approved the CAR T-cell treatment axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta®) for patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) that has returned or worsened despite earlier treatment. FL is the most common slow-growing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and while the disease can generally be managed, reoccurrence is common.

LLS & Walgreens are in your corner

Shop Online and In-Store at Walgreens to Support LLS

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and Walgreens are in your corner.  

 

Since 2019, Walgreens has helped to raise more than $30 million for LLS and Susan G. Komen, all with a clear goal in mind: to advance research for tough-to-treat cancers and increase equitable access to care. 

The Cost of Cancer Care and its Impact on Patients

LLS is on the frontlines of the battle against blood cancers, and we are alarmed by the stories that patients and their families are sharing with us about their struggles to access affordable, high-quality and stable care. Last year, our free Information Resource Center received more than 26,000 calls from patients and families – the majority included concerns about financial stress and difficulties accessing treatment.

Image of Elizabeth, myeloma survivor. On-image text reads: September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month.

Defining and Redefining a Blood Cancer Diagnosis

Science historian June Goodfield wrote, “Cancer begins and ends with people.”   

This Blood Cancer Awareness Month, it’s important to know that The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is on a mission to cure blood cancers and improve quality of life for the nearly 1.7 million people in the U.S. living with or in remission from blood cancer.  

LLS is all about people—an organization full of people who are united in the urgent effort to help every person impacted by blood cancer.  

Maria Figueroa, MD

Meet the Researcher: Maria Figueroa, MD

Our “Meet the Researcher” series on The LLS Blog shares what our outstanding LLS-funded researchers are working on, the incredible impact they’re making in the fight against blood cancer, and what inspires their efforts to find better treatments and cures. Dr. Maria “Ken” Figueroa, Associate Professor and Co-Leader of the Cancer Epigenetics Research Program at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System, is focused on an exciting area of research called epigenetics.

Tiffany surrounded by her family and friends at a Light The Night event

Blood Cancer Survivors Find Special Meaning and Connection as Employee Champions of LLS Light the Night Events

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is proud of our continuing partnership with Gilead and Kite Oncology as the National Presenting Sponsor of Celebration and Community at Light The Night events across the U.S. helping bring people together and raise critical funds to support patients and their families. 

Myeloma survivors, you've got us

Understanding Myeloma: A Quick Guide

Myeloma is a rare blood cancer

 

Cayden holds his stuffed animal.

We Dare to Dream so Their Dreams Come True

Did you know that blood cancer is the most common cancer diagnosis for children, accounting for 40% of pediatric cancer cases? In fact, nearly 55,000 children and adolescents in the United States currently have blood cancer or are in remission from blood cancer.  

Birthday girl blowing out candles

Why Monthly Giving Matters

Giving regularly over time = giving patients and survivors the chance for more time.  

Monthly giving really deserves more credit—credit as a predictable, impactful funding force for our lifesaving and life-changing work. For The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), the reliability of a regular gift helps to sustain cutting-edge research and to provide the free resources and support blood cancer patients and survivors need to live longer, better lives. 

It’s about ongoing generosity. It’s about creating a lasting impact.  

And... 

Smiling Girl with Cancer

Ushering In a New Era of Pediatric Blood Cancer Treatment and Care

We caught up with Gwen Nichols, MD, Chief Medical Officer at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), to share the progress we’re making to bring cures and better care to children with blood cancer through The LLS Children’s Initiative.

 

Tell us about The LLS Children’s Initiative and why it’s so important to you and LLS.

An older, white man smiles and is joined by his wife, who is also white, as he speaks to his doctor

People with CLL are living longer than ever before, and cures are on the horizon

People with the most common type of blood cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), are living longer than ever before without their disease progressing. While cures for CLL patients are still rare, survival rates have improved steadily over the last 50 years, with nearly 90 percent of people diagnosed with CLL today surviving at least five years, and most for many years longer.  

A scientist stands above a petri dish with a dropper and places a liquid solution on the dish.

The Immune System and Blood Cancer: 4 Things You Need to Know

Immunotherapy uses the power of the immune system to treat blood cancer. Today it is a standard treatment that has a profound effect in some blood cancer patients, but it still falls short in others. 

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has been a champion of this type of cancer treatment for decades, supporting some of the earliest and most game-changing immune-based treatments for blood cancer. The advances have been astonishing, but there is so much further to go. 

Researcher wearing a hair net, N95 mask and gloves injects a liquid into a vial.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's New Chief Scientific Officer Excited about What's Next in Blood Cancer Research

Lore Gruenbaum, Ph.D., was promoted to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Chief Scientific Officer (CSO) following the retirement of longtime CSO Lee Greenberger, Ph.D. on December 31. We talked with Dr. Gruenbaum about her new role and what’s on the horizon for blood cancer research in 2025. 

“It’s a privilege to lead a group of dedicated LLS scientists to seek out and fund innovative science for every type of blood cancer,” says Dr. Gruenbaum.  

Volunteers making an impact together

Because You Volunteer, Your Impact Creates a Ripple Effect

When you commit time and talent to a nonprofit’s mission – no matter how you choose to get involved – you become a volunteer, and the impact of your efforts runs far deeper than the specific project or task you work on. For example, volunteers don’t always realize that the hours they spent stocking shelves meant hundreds of families would have food for two weeks. Or that the time spent fundraising not only raised critical mission dollars but also added value upward of $1,250 to the organization’s bottom line.

Breaking News Leukemia

FDA Approves First CAR T-Immunotherapy for Relapsed/Refractory Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently announced approval of brexucabtagene autoleucel (Tecartus®) as the first and only CAR T-cell treatment for adults with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Roughly half of all ALL cases occur in adults, and unlike pediatric ALL, adults have historically had a poor prognosis. This approval, which follows an FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation and priority review, is a meaningful advance for these patients.

Hiker looking at mountain

Helping Survivors Lead Longer Better Lives

Late last year I had the privilege of attending a special screening of the documentary American Symphony. The film chronicles the experiences of writer Suleika Jaouad and her husband musician Jon Batiste after learning that her acute myeloid leukemia (AML) had returned after years of remission. The movie shows how the couple navigates uncertainty, treatment, and their new normal afterwards. 

SAVE THE DATE AGAIN: GETTING MARRIED AFTER CANCER

My name’s Dustin. December 3, 2016 was the date that I was supposed to get married to KT. It was a Saturday. We had that date set for over a year, but there was no wedding—we canceled it the Tuesday before. KT informed most of our guests with an explanatory text: “So, I have some unfortunate news. We’re going to have to call off the wedding this weekend. Dust got cold feet…and leukemia.”

A researcher analyzes a specimen in a test tube.

Blood Cancer Research Poised for Another ‘Banner Year’ in 2024

More than 25,000 medical professionals from across the world came together in December to discuss the latest blood cancer developments during the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH). This annual event gives us the opportunity to think about what advances are on the horizon as LLS works to strengthen cures, care and quality of life for people with blood cancer and their families.