The Therapeutic Goods Administration has approved the use of a new treatment for leukaemia.
Tasigna®, or nilotinib, will be available for patients suffering from chronic myeloid leukaemia who have become resistant to or can no longer tolerate prior treatments.
CML is a blood cancer where, because of genetic mutations, the body produces too many mature white blood cells in the bone marrow which overflow into the blood leading to anaemia. Approximately 250 Australians are diagnosed with CML each year.
Dr Anna Williamson from the Leukaemia Foundation says the approval of Tasigna gave renewed hope to people living with CML because it gave them a better chance of survival.
Seventy percent of all CML cases occur in people aged over 40. |