Dr. Tallman on BRAF Inhibitors for the Treatment of HCL

Martin S. Tallman, MD, Chief, Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the treatment of hairy cell leukemia (HCL) with a BRAF inhibitor.

HCL is an uncommon disease, with fewer than 1,000 new diagnoses per year in the U.S. It was recently reported, Tallman says, that most patients with HCL have a BRAF mutation. At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, researchers are looking at vemurafenib, a BRAF inhibitor, in patients with relapsed/refractory HCL. Tallman says they are encouraged by initial results.