Vorinostat
A recent study suggested that vorinostat also possesses some activity against recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, resulting in a median overall survival of 5.7 months (compared to 4–4.4 months in earlier studies). Further brain tumor trials are planned in which vorinostat will be combined with other drugs.
Acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Prior to the development of chemotherapy regimens and hematopoietic stem cell transplant, children were surviving a median length of 3 months, largely due to either infection or bleeding. Since the advent of chemotherapy, prognosis for childhood leukemia has improved greatly and children with ALL are estimated to have a 95% probability of achieving a successful remission after 4 weeks of initiating treatment. Pediatric patients with ALL in developed countries have a greater than 80% five-year-survival rate. It is estimated that 60–80% of adults undergoing induction chemotherapy achieve complete remission after 4 weeks, and those over the age of 70 have a cure rate of 5%.
However, there are differing prognoses for ALL among individuals depending on a variety of factors: