Overview
Immunotherapy drugs work by stimulating the body's own natural defenses to act on leukemia cells. One form of immunotherapy used in treating leukemia, the drug interferon alpha, is a substance that occurs naturally in some cells. It is usually administered in daily injections. Side effects may include fever, chills, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, headache, muscle aches, bone pain, and concentration problems. Another type of immunotherapy makes use of monoclonal antibodies. These substances are produced in a laboratory and they are designed to target and latch onto cells that carry specific proteins. Once the monoclonal antibody finds its target - such as a leukemia cell that expresses a specific protein - it can then deliver therapy directly to the cell. A new drug that uses this approach was recently approved for treating some forms of leukemia; it uses a monoclonal antibody to deliver a toxic substance called calichearnicin. The drug is called gemtuzumab (MylotargTM).
Immunotherapy Drug Information
(Click on the drug(s) you will be receiving to get more information.)
Campath IH (also known as: Campath-1; Monoclonal anti-human lymphocyte antibody; monoclonal antilymphocyte antibody)
Gemtuzumab (also known as: Anti-CD33 monoclonal antibody calicheamicin; CDP-771; CMA-676; hP67.6-calicheamicin; Mylotarg)
Interferon Alpha 2A (also known as: Interferon, Roferon-A®)
Rituximab (also known as: Rituxan™, Mabthera, C2B8)
