Venetoclax: How It Helps Treat Blood Cancer
Blood cancers such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) begin when white blood cells stop behaving normally. They multiply too fast, don’t die when they should, and crowd out the healthy cells your body needs to function. Venetoclax is one of the newer medicines designed to fix that imbalance. It targets a protein called BCL-2, which cancer cells use as a kind of survival shield. By blocking this protein, Venetoclax helps those abnormal cells die naturally, giving healthy ones room to grow again. What is Venetoclax? Most traditional treatments attack cells broadly. Venetoclax works from within, nudging cancer cells toward a natural shutdown process called apoptosis. It’s part of a newer class of drugs known as BCL-2 inhibitors. Doctors prescribe it for: Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma (SLL) It’s often combined with other medicines like azacitidine or rituximab to impr...