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Comment
. 2021 Jun;11(6):1324-1326.
doi: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-21-0261.

Inhibiting the Inhibitors of Apoptosis: When Two Targets Are Better Than One

Karilyn T M Larkin  1 , John C Byrd  2
Affiliations
Comment

Inhibiting the Inhibitors of Apoptosis: When Two Targets Are Better Than One

Karilyn T M Larkin et al. Cancer Discov. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

In this issue of Cancer Discovery, Pullarkat and colleagues present the results from a phase I clinical trial that is the first to combine small-molecule inhibitors for multiple antiapoptotic proteins, BCL2 as well as BCL-XL, with a traditional chemotherapy backbone for patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia. This trial has demonstrated impressive response rates with acceptable toxicity while providing proof of concept that dual targeting-hitting BCL2 hard and BCL-XL soft-is both effective and tolerable in a heterogeneous patient population with prior existing cytopenias.See related article by Pullarkat et al., p. 1440.

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