Is venetoclax/venetoclax chemotherapy or maintenance drug?

Venetoclax/Venetoclax is neither a traditional chemotherapy drug nor a pure maintenance treatment drug. Technically, this is a targeted therapy. Chemotherapy is defined as a drug treatment that kills fast-growing cells in the body, which means it often kills other fast-growing normal cells in the body, such as red blood cells and cells in hair. Veneclat works by binding to a specific protein called BCL-2, which is overexpressed on cancer cells in people with cancers such as acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Veneclar kills cancer cells by inhibitingBCL-2, a group of proteins that regulate cell death by inhibiting or inducing apoptosis. Apoptosis is an orderly form of cell death in which a cell's contents are "packaged" for collection by immune cells. This is different from how cells die due to damage. In some cancers, such as CLL and AML, large amounts of BCL-2 are present on the surface of the cells. This overexpression of BCL-2 allows tumor cells to survive longer and is associated with resistance to chemotherapy treatments. Laboratory studies show that venetoclax binds to this protein and kills cancerous CLL and AML lymphocytes.

Compared with traditional chemotherapy drugs, venetoclax is more targeted and causes less damage to normal cells, so its side effects are relatively low. However, it is not completely free of side effects. During use, patients may experience adverse reactions such as bone marrow function suppression, such as reduction of white blood cells, neutrophils and thrombocytopenia, and severe thrombocytopenia may lead to bleeding. In addition, patients may also experience symptoms such as anemia, pale complexion, and general weakness. In rare cases, allergic reactions such as skin itching and rash may occur.