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Targeted treatments

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The cells that cause Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia have certain proteins in them. These proteins act as messengers, which help the cells to survive and grow.

What are targeted treatments?

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Targeted treatments are medicines that have been specially designed to seek out parts of a Waldenstrom's macroglobulinaemia cell. Most targeted treatments find the proteins and attack them. This stops them sending messages, killing the cancer cells in the process. Because of this targeted approach, fewer healthy cells are damaged than with chemotherapy, which can mean fewer side effects.
 

Some of these medicines are very new, and therefore many are still being tested and aren’t available outside of clinical trials.

Close up of unrecognizable senior man lying on bed and being handed medication to take

Antibody therapy is also a type of targeted treatment. This drug targets a protein on the surface of the WM cell. The most common you’ll hear about is rituximab. 

BTK Inhibitor
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