Biologic and Immune Therapies for CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia)

Hi Friends,

This week’s update on the CLL Society website http://cllsociety.org is my unscripted recordings on biologic or immunotherapies.

I start by reviewing my take on the good and bad of the well known and novel antibodies directed against our B cells by targeting its surface marker CD20. These include rituximab (Rituxan), ofatuzumab (Arzerra), and obinituzumab (Gazyva). Among other topics,  I discuss the difference between type I and type II monoclonal antibodies.

I also cover other antibodies, new and old, IMIDS (immune modulating drugs) such as lenalidomide (Revlimid) vaccines, and more.

To listen please, visit the treatment section (found under the Basics tab) of the CLL website by clicking here: http://cllsociety.org/cll-101/treatment/

Please let us know if this helps. I am particularly proud of this recording as it was done live and spontaneously with no notes. I think is ends up being more focused, ironically similar to the drugs discussed.

We plan on bringing more of this type of content. Your feedback on the website or to me by email informs what we add and how we will grow the website. Although there is only myself, my wife (both unpaid) and a wonderful RN, Betsy Dennison as the team, we listen carefully to all comments to help brings what’s needed to best manage our cancer. 

Smart patients get smart care™.

As always, all our content is free and easily accessible to anyone but if you want you may sign up for our weekly alerts to know when we post new content, 1 to 3 x a week, and for our inaugural newsletters which will be amazing. We understand the importance of privacy and don’t share any personal info.

Our website traffic has grown phenomenally in its first 10 weeks. Over a 1000 page views on our busy days. We also hope it will be a launching site for anyone with CLL as we have links to nearly all the quality sites on our front page.

The artwork in the background of the video is again my son, Will Koffman’s tribute to Durer’s Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  Will rendered the entire work using only bleach on black cotton.

Nothing much new to report on the personal level with my CLL. Still get tired. Still traveling way too much (over the next 2 weeks I will be in Dallas, Seattle, Las Vegas and Poland to teach and to learn) and still doing too much and getting too sleep. Really it is a bit crazy.

I am waiting on my more granular lab results from OSU. Despite my best intentions, I always worry when I am waiting for my results.

Thanks.

Stay strong.

We are all in this together.

Brian

Volunteer Medical Director, CLL Society Inc.

http://cllsociety.org

BKOFFMANMD@GMAIL.COM