If you have found this page, then you may have TPLL or know someone who does.
T-PLL or T Cell Prolymphocytic Leukemia, is a rare, aggressive leukemia.
The purpose of this page is to give you some basic information about TPLL and connect you to our Facebook page for support.
We have have had difficulty finding information and want to make it easier for those that follow.
T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL) is an extremely rare and typically aggressive malignancy (cancer) that is characterized by the out of control growth of mature T-cells (T-lymphocytes). T-cells are a type of white blood cell that protects the body from infections. T-PLL affects older adults with a median age at diagnosis of 61 years, and it is more common in men than in women. - The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS)
T-cell blood cancers are a very rare and aggressive type of cancer. Due to their rarity, unfortunately several of the current therapies for these patients are not developed specifically for T-cell blood cancers, but are borrowed from therapies for other diseases. Our JAKSTAT-TARGET consortium has assembled a diverse array of researchers with expertise in cancer biology, functional genomics, structural biophysics, and medicinal chemistry to investigate and develop new drug candidate molecules that are directly tailored to a specific type of T-cell cancers. In our approach, we have identified a specific subset of proteins, called the JAK/STAT signaling pathway, to be heavily affected in specific T-cell cancers.(Full description on YouTube)
Tapan Kadia, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, highlights data coming from a Phase IB study of itacitinib combined with alemtuzumab in patients with T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL). This interview took place at the European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress 2022 held in Vienna, Austria.
Marco Herling, MD, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, comments on the pathobiology of T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL), discussing current and future management strategies for this condition. This interview took place at the European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress 2022 held in Vienna, Austria.
This site is dedicated to Kathi, Michelle, Laurie and my wife Susan. They searched the darkness to find each other and worked to create a support group that continues to be a beacon for others diagnosed with T-PLL. This site exists to help others find them.
When Susan was diagnosed with T-PLL very little information was available online. Most of the search results were references to hematology journals and patient accounts that were often stale blogs with little detail about treatment. None of the medical centers appeared to be doing any active research. The content on this site comes from pages and videos that didn’t exist at the time Susan was diagnosed.
Today, the Facebook group T-CELL PROLYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA (T-PLL) continues to provide support and share information about treatment. And now, with great thanks to Susan’s mother Helen, there is a fund named in Susan’s honor for T-PLL specific research at the University of Toronto Mississauga. Please consider donating to fund T-PLL research. For the US tax write offs, US donors should use the PDF form.
April 13, 1967 – April 8, 2021
A beloved daughter, wife, mother, sister and friend, Susan was a multi-talented young woman who shone on many levels—competitive swimmer, floral designer and so much more. Taken too early from her family and friends, she will be deeply missed.
Your donation in memory of Susan will, in its entirety, support Professor Patrick Gunning and his team, the Gunning Group, in their quest to find therapeutics for TPLL. Professor Gunning and his collaborators are working to develop novel single agent and combination therapies for the treatment of TPLL. Your gift toward this critically important research at the University of Toronto Mississauga is deeply appreciated.