Differentiation Syndrome Caused By IDH Inhibitors
- IDH1 and IDH2 Inhibitors are fairly new FDA approved medications for AML patients
- One side effect of these drugs is Differentiation Syndrome, in which many blood cells mature at the same time
- Patients taking IDH Inhibitors should be monitored closely for Differentiation Syndrome, and are given steroids or taken off the medication all together if necessary
“Drugs that inhibit IDH1 and IDH2 can actually cause the cells to differentiate, and that is the technical term for convincing these cells to grow up,” says Dr. Tara Lin, Director of the Acute Leukemia Program at University of Kansas Medical Center.
How do IDH1 and IDH2 Inhibitors Work?
Read More“If someone were to develop Differentiation Syndrome, depending on how severe it was, we can either use steroids to treat it and sometimes have to take a break from using the drug if necessary,” Dr. Lin says.
Medication For Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Patients
In addition to IDH1 and IDH2 Inhibitors, there are other types of medication that could benefit leukemia patients. Dr. Raoul Tibes, Director of the Clinical Leukemia Program at NYU Langone Health, talked to SurvivorNet about new drugs targeted towards leukemia patients such as Ventecolax which inhibits the BCL2 protein that protects leukemia cells.
“BCL2 are proteins inside the cells that help the leukemia cells to evade chemotherapy. So they are protecting leukemia cells,” Dr. Tibes says. “If you have a BCL2 inhibitor, now that inhibits or takes out the activity of those proteins inside leukemia cells.”
Dr. Tibes recommends patients take Ventecolax alongside other existing leukemia drugs, Decitabine and Azocytadine since combination therapy has had longer lasting responses compared to standard treatment therapies, where patients would take either Decitabine or Azocytadine.
“If I am a leukemia patient today, or my brother which I rarely say I would ask for that combination,” Dr. Tibes says.
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