A new drug duo cut the risk of a common blood cancer getting worse by 51%

For people newly diagnosed with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma — the most common kind of blood cancer of the lymph system — the standard treatment has been a heavy round of chemo called R-CHOP. Today Danish biotech Genmab and US drugmaker AbbVie said a new addition to that routine is paying off: in a late-stage trial, pairing R-CHOP with their drug epcoritamab — an immune-based therapy that helps the body's own T cells hunt down cancer cells — cut the risk of the disease getting worse or of death by 51% compared with chemo alone. The drug is not yet approved for newly diagnosed patients, but the result marks a real step forward for a disease where first treatment matters most.