HEMATOLOGY

Graft versus Host Disease

The FDA has granted a New Drug Application for zanubrutinib a priority review for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma who have previously received at least 1 prior treatment.

David Bond, MD, discusses 2 key findings from a recent study investigating the risk of developing a second cancer in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with a BTK inhibitor.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Robert L. Redner, MD, highlighted the new agents available for the treatment of AML and some of the ongoing studies that could impact clinical practice.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Alessandra Tedeschi, MD, discussed the 5-year data she presented at the 2019 EHA Meeting for frontline ibrutinib as a treatment for patients with CLL. She also highlighted other research that may also benefit elderly patients with CLL, including the emerging combination of venetoclax and obinutuzumab.

Recent guidelines highlight the need to distinguish chronic myelomonocytic leukemia from conditions similar to other myeloproliferative neoplasms, provide standardized diagnostic procedures, and outline therapeutic options for adult patients with CMML.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology, </em>James&nbsp;McCloskey, MD, explained the need for consideration of elderly patients when designing clinical trials for <em>IDH</em>-mutated AML and other considerations when treating this patient population.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to acalabrutinib monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.&nbsp;The breakthrough designation was given based on the results of interim analyses from 2 phase III trials: ELEVATE-TN and ASCEND.&nbsp;

The initial pilot study of CTL019 in heavily pretreated CD19-positive hematologic malignancies demonstrated the feasibility of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with CLL. A presentation at the 2019 American Society of Gene &amp; Cell Therapy Annual Meeting reported 2 cases of chemotherapy-resistant CLL, with ongoing follow- up at 8 years showing persistence of CAR-engineered T cells and sustained remission, as determined by flow cytometry and deep sequencing of immunoglobulin H rearrangements.&nbsp;

The American Society of Hematology has chosen Philip Greenberg, MD, to receive the 2019 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for his work in immunotherapy.

Patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia typically have low response rates to chemotherapy. However, some subsets of patients, particularly those with targetable mutations, may have long-term survival when given a novel FLT3 inhibitor like gilteritinib, as seen in the ADMIRAL trial, says Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD.

Jorge Cortes, MD Cortes discussed frontline treatment options for patients with CML with <em>Targeted Oncology</em> ahead of a debate on optimal frontline regimens for chronic myeloid leukemia at the <em>3rd Annual</em> Live Medical Crossfire: Hematologic Malignancies, hosted by Physicians&rsquo; Education Resource.<br /> &nbsp;

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Chong, a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed the 4-year follow-up data for CAR T cells in patients with DLBCL and FL. She also addressed the challenges that need to be overcome in order to give more patients access to this type of therapy.

Michael J. Mauro, MD, discusses how 4 FDA-approved frontline therapies are providing benefit to patients with chronic myeloid leukemia

In the phase I/II TRANSCEND CLL 004 study, chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy lisocabtagene maraleucel led to undetectable minimal residual disease in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Take a look back on the FDA happenings, including approvals, fast track designations, priority reviews, and more from the month of July 2019.

The American Oncology Network, LLC will be acquiring a new practice from Ohio in August.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Richard M. Stone, MD, discussed the biggest controversies across a number of patient populations in AML. He also highlighted some areas of research he finds particularly exciting for the treatment of patients with AML.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Peter Martin, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Weil Cornell Medicine, recounts physician crossfire discussions related to frontline MCL treatment and provides his own expert opinion on the subject.

The FDA has granted an orphan drug designation to MB-102, a CD123-directed CAR T-cell therapy, for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

PF-05280586, a biosimilar for rituximab, has been approved by the FDA for use as a single-agent or in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of&nbsp;adult patients with CD20-positive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma, or in combination with chemotherapy for patients with CD20-positive chronic lymphocytic leukemia.