Blood and tissue samples to study blood cancers and test new treatments

Researchers at the National Cancer Institute are collecting blood and tissue samples from people with various blood cancers — particularly hairy cell leukemia — as well as healthy volunteers. The goal is to better understand how these cancers develop and to test new experimental treatments, including a medication called Moxetumomab Pasudotox and other therapies that work differently than standard chemotherapy.

Standard chemotherapy can help some patients with hairy cell leukemia, but it doesn't cure the disease, and certain aggressive variants don't respond well to current treatments. By studying patient samples and testing new approaches, researchers hope to find more effective options for people whose cancers don't respond to existing therapies.