Phase I trial finds experimental drug safe in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia

(University of California - San Diego) Reporting results from a first-in-human phase I clinical trial, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine have found that treatment with cirmtuzumab, an experimental monoclonal antibody-based drug, measurably inhibited the 'stemness' of chronic leukemia cancer (CLL) cells -- their ability to self-renew and resist terminal differentiation and senescence.