Chronic Lympocytic Leukemia (CLC) unfortunately remains an incurable disease, but thanks to scientists from the Mayo Clinic -- working in conjunction with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center -- it is becoming increasingly more manageable with the help of new chemotherapy tools.

Using a drug cocktail consisting of Pentostatin, Cyclophosphamide and Rituximab, patients experienced a positive clinical response, meaning that they experienced improvement in their condition. To measure the success of this three-drug approach (which was implemented as a means of increasing the efficacy of using the antibiotic Penostatin by itself), the researchers found that 91percent of the patients had positive results to the treatment based on the National Cancer Institute's Working Group criteria for responses. Of that 91percent, forty-one percent achieved complete response, twenty-two percent experienced nodular partial response and twenty-eight percent had partial response. Additionally, the researchers discovered that the treatment also had an effect on the suppression of bone marrow and/or infections.

It appears as though patients of all ages can benefit from this treatment, as the data suggests that it was equally as effective for the young and the elderly (people over 70).