Alemtuzumab is a drug used in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): (CRAW-nik lim-foe-SIGH-tick loo-KEE-mee-uh) Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is a type of blood, lymph node and bone marrow cancer in which too many abnormal white blood cells called lymphocytes accumulate in your body. , cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and T-cell lymphoma under the trade names Campath, MabCampath and Campath-1H, and in the treatment of multiple sclerosis as Lemtrada. It is also used in some conditioning regimens for bone marrow bone marrow: The soft, spongy tissue inside most bones. Blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. transplantation, kidney transplantation and islet cell transplantation.
It is a monoclonal antibody monoclonal antibody: A type of protein called an antibody that is engineered to look for a specific substance in the body. There are many kinds of monocloncal antibodies. Each one looks for only one substance. Eculizumab (Soliris) is an monoclonal antibody that may be prescribed to treat patients with paroxysmal… that binds to CD52, a protein present on the surface of mature lymphocytes, but not on the stem cells stem cells: Cells in the body that develop into other cells. There are two main sources of stem cells. Embryonic stem cells come from human embryos and are used in medical research. Adult stem cells in the body repair and maintain the organ or tissue in which they are found. Blood-forming (hemapoietic) stem… from which these lymphocytes are derived. After treatment with alemtuzumab, these CD52-bearing lymphocytes are targeted for destruction.
Alemtuzumab is used as second-line therapy for CLL. It was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for CLL patients who have been treated with alkylating agents and who have failed fludarabine fludarabine: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved fludarabine for treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CCL). Researchers are studying fludarabine in combination with other medicines for treating bone marrow failure. therapy. It has been approved by Health Canada for the same indication, and additionally for CLL patients who have not had any previous therapies.
(Mab)Campath was withdrawn from the markets in the US and Europe in 2012 to prepare for a higher-priced relaunch of Lemtrada aimed at multiple sclerosis.
A complication of therapy with alemtuzumab is that it significantly increases the risk for opportunistic infections, in particular, reactivation of cytomegalovirus.