- Sen. Mitch McConnell Leaves Rehab, Heads Home After Concussion
- AHA News: A Decade After Her Baby’s Heart Surgery, a Surgeon Fixed the Same Problem in Her Heart
- COVID in Pregnancy Might Raise Odds for Neurodevelopmental Disorders in Sons: Study
- Black Americans Would Reap Biggest Health Boon From Cleaner Air
- Sleep Apnea in Childhood Could Affect Developing Brain
- Tick Bites Can Trigger Meat Allergy: What You Need to Know
- Insomnia, Sleep Apnea Rise in Women With MS
- Health Highlights: March 27, 2023
- Ovary Removal When Young Could Raise Parkinson’s Risk
- Loud Incubators Might Damage Preemie Babies’ Hearing
Imbruvica Approved for Mantle Cell Lymphoma

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 13Imbruvica (ibrutinib) has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), a rare but aggressive form of blood cancer.
MCL represents about six percent of non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases, the agency said Wednesday in a news release. By the time it’s usually diagnosed, it has spread to other areas such as the lymph nodes or bone marow.
Imbruvica, designed to inhibit an enzyme that cancer cells need to spread, was granted the FDA’s rare “breakthrough therapy” status as a drug that promises to offer a “substantial improvement over available therapies for patients with serious or life-threatening diseases,” the agency said.
Imbruvica was evaluated in a study of 111 participants. Of those who took the drug daily, 66 percent had their cancer shrink or disappear, the FDA said. The most common side effects included: low blood platelets, diarrhea, low white blood cells, anemia, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, swelling and upper respiratory infection.
Imbruvica is co-marketed by Sunnyvale, Calif.-based Pharmacyclics, and Raritan, N.J.-based Janssen Biotech.
More information
To learn more about non-Hodgkin lymphoma, visit Medline Plus.
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2023 HealthDay. All rights reserved.