Drug trial aims to wipe out lingering cancer cells in leukemia patients

This study tested whether taking the drug ibrutinib as a long-term maintenance treatment could eliminate tiny, hard-to-detect amounts of cancer that remain after initial therapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). It involved 35 patients who had responded to their first treatment but still had minimal residual disease. The main goal was to see if the pills could make this leftover cancer undetectable in blood and bone marrow tests and keep it away.