Family photo courtesy of Sandrine Heute
Today’s good news story comes from the good news network.
Kinder than Chemo Cancer Drug Cured This Young Man of Leukemia–Available in the US
By Andy Corbley
Picture a very unhappy situation: you have leukemia; what are your options? Everyone knows about the side effects of chemo, and most people will have some idea about the Nobel Prize-winning CAR-T cell therapy—but there’s also a third option.
It seems startling to be so overlooked because it’s so straightforward. Blinatumomab cured the young fellow above of his B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
The BBC reports that 20 medical centers in the UK are already using off-brand stocks of blinatumomab to treat this cancer, and the country has already approved the drug for adult use.
‘Blina,’ as it’s referred to for short, is also an immunotherapy drug; it seeks out and kills cancer cells that typically disguise themselves from the body’s innate immune system. However, unlike chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cell), blina is cheaper.
Blina is a kind of targeted therapy drug called a bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE). It’s administered via a pump and plastic bag through a tube inserted into the patient’s arm.
The bag is carried around in a slim backpack, and the supply lasts a few days. CAR-T cell therapy requires a patient’s cells to be taken out and modified to fight off whichever cancer is present—which takes time.
Like CAR-T, the healthy normal cells are not destroyed as in the case of chemotherapy, allowing the patient to continue leading a mostly normal life.
“Chemotherapies are poisons that kill the leukemic cells but also kill and damage normal cells—and that is what causes their side effects,” said chief investigator and consultant pediatric hematologist Professor Ajay Vora to the BBC. “Blinatumomab is a gentler, kinder treatment.”
Gentler on the body—not on the cancer. Arthur, now 11, was one of the first kids to receive the treatment at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London. His family got the word that his blood cancer was cured on New Year’s Eve.
Having started chemo years before, which both left him very weak and failed to kill the cancer, the family called Blina a “little ray of sunshine” and said that they celebrated the new year twice as hard.
On March 29th, 2018, the US Food and Drug Administration granted accelerated approval to blinatumomab after successful trial results, though serious side effects were not uncommon. It’s available for B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia treatment.
The good news in this article is Cancer is still under attack, and new discoveries are making survival much more frequent. Today’s JohnKu talks about science. I hope you have a great weekend.
Discoveries by John W. Howell © 2024
The disease still kills,
But science still plods along . . .
Miracle life saves.
Fiction Favorites 
about time they found a better way, John…
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I agree, Jaye.
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What a hopeful story for the here and now and for the future, John.
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Great promise here. Thanks, Marc
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Great story.
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😊
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Miracle indeed. 💜 Thank you for sharing the hopeful results of this immunotherapy treatment, John.
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I thought it was an amazing story. Having survived some pretty aggressive treatments for Cancer myself, it sounded like a great alternative.
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Wonderful story! Thanks for the positive start to the weekend, John.
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I agree on the story. Yes, it does make the weekend seem better. Thanks, Mark.
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They come up with new things all the time, but we rarely hear about them.
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I had the same thought. It is irritating that hunting down good news like this takes time. It should be right out there. Thanks, Craig.
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That’s awesome.
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It is. I agree. Thanks, Charles.
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Good to see the boy smiling and knowing that success is finally around in the war against cancer!
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I agree, GP. What amazed me is he had traditional chemo for two years and it didn’t work. Then this treatment did. Great story. I hope you have a super weekend.
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And you as well, John.
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😊 Thanks, GP.
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A truly hopeful bit of news on cancer research. We must work hard to stop and cure childrens cancers esp. The US should be the leader. Have a wonderful day John 😊
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Thank you, Holly. Wishing you a wonderful day as well. You are right about kids cancer. It is very sad to hear of a child not living out their potential. Thanks for the lovely comment.
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This is a wonderful post John. Hopefully our researchers will continue to make huge strides in cancer treatment and that they will be affordable to all in need.
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I hope the same. Thanks, Again. 🐂
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🐂
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🐂 🌺
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🌹
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😊
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It’s great news to hear about progress made in fighting cancer. I can see why the family looks so happy. Thanks for sharing this good news with us, John.
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Thank you, Tim. 😊
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Wonderful story, John. Too many of us are touched by cancer either ourselves or by someone whom we know. Science is making progress and there are many success stories, as we know, but the fight continues. This young man benefited by a new drug that was less aggressive on his body and it was less expensive. A win-win. Thanks for sharing. Have a great weekend!
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Have a great weekend yourself, Steve. Thanks for the uplifting comment.
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The smiles from this family say everything. Not in my lifetime, but there will be a cure for cancer, I am sure.
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It has been a slow process but we have to think of all the cancers that used to kill people are now survivable. Thanks, Lois.
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Thank you for sharing such good news, John! It’s good to know that the war on cancer is still active and winning battles. And in the case of this boy’s cancer, it was not a Pyrrhic victory.
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So true, Liz. He and his family won this one. 😁
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😀
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And this miracle needs to be shouted from the rooftops to the entire world!
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Yes but good luck with the all the hate news going on.
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What a fabulous Fri-Yay post, John! I can’t imagine a better way for that family to start the New Year then with the news they received. I hope Blinatumomab is something that receives more attention and is made available to more people. Yay for science, and yay for miracles, too!
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Thank you for the lovely comment, Mae. I so agree with your cheers. 😁
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God Bless us, everyone! ❤
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Amen sister.
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This is a wonderful story and I’m so happy for this young man after all that he has been through!
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Thanks, John, for passing this along. We can still hope that science will find answers to problematic diseases one day … and soon.
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Will take time but I think the answers will come.
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What a wonderful miracle for this family. Their smiles speak volumes.
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They do. Warms the heart.
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Always making advances. So encouraging! Thanks for sharing this, John!
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Found this in Spam, Jan. Thanks for the comment
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Such a beautiful blessing for this family and cheers to more breakthroughs in science, John. A great way to start the weekend, thank you❣️
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I agree, Cindy. I hope you have a good one.
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❤️🙏🩷
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That treatment is something to cheer about…chemo is often the equivalent to poisoning the patient. Sure it can help some people but sometimes the results of the patient are beyond horrific.
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I agree, Monika. We just lost a friend to the ultimate side effects of anti cancer therapy.
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I’m sorry for the loss of your friend. I thought the same thing re Toby Keith. Tragic how he went downhill in a short period of time.
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Yes it was. That December concert is a heart breaker to watch.
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This is just wonderful news. Your JohnKu says it perfectly.
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Thank you so much, Jennie.
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You’re welcome, John!
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😊
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What a fabulous piece of news, John. Offers so much hope for cancer sufferers out there. Wonderful JohnKu, too.
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Thak you, Dale. I agree with the hope aspect. 😊
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🤗
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Great news! Thanks for this, John! There will always be a solution on issues. We only have to find it. xx Michael
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Finding the solutions is the aftermath of determining the cause. Thanks. 😁
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This is fantastic news!
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It is, Betsy
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Thanks for sharing this great news John. Gives us hope for the future. 🙂
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Found this comment in SPAM, Debby
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Omg, I’ve been hearing that all week 😦 Thanks for finding me 🙂
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😊
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Very cool!
Cancer is such a cruel drag. This treatment is some good news, as science & cancer plod on.
Your JohnKu covers that. Thank you!
🐂 🐂 🐂 🐂
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Thank you, Resa. It is always god to see some kind of breakthrough 🐂 🐂 🐂 🐂🩺X
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Agree!!! 🐂 🐂 🩺X 🐂 🐂
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