The Croatian Leukemia and Lymphoma Association (HULL) is a patient organization founded in 1994 at the initiative of leading Croatian hematologists. It is a volunteer-based, non-profit organization that brings together people affected by malignant hematologic diseases, their family members, and healthcare professionals. HULL’s president, Dražen Vincek, commented on the modern treatment of these malignant diseases and the needs of patients during the treatment process.
From the patients’ perspective, how much has the treatment of hematologic malignant diseases changed over the past ten years?
Over the past ten years, the treatment of all hematologic diseases has improved significantly. Thanks to new scientific insights and the discovery of new medicines that have first undergone all phases of research, including preclinical and clinical studies, major progress has been achieved in the treatment of malignant hematologic diseases. Treatment with newly developed cytostatics, monoclonal antibodies, targeted therapies, and drugs that act on signaling pathways involved in the activation and suppression of tumor cells has considerably prolonged the expected survival of patients with hematologic malignancies. To ensure that patients receive the right drug at the right time, diagnostic methods have also been improved. Not all new drugs are suitable for every patient with the same diagnosis. Some medicines are effective only in patients who have specific factors that these new drugs can target.
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