HEMATOLOGY

According to long-term follow-up data from the phase III CLL11 study, treatment with obinutuzumab combined with chlorambucil reduced the risk of death by 24% versus rituximab plus chlorambucil in treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia with comorbidities. These findings were presented at the 2018 European Hematology Association Congress.

In patients with untreated advanced-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma, PET can be safely used to guide treatment after 2 cycles of upfront de-escalated BEACOPP, according to the final analysis of the phase III LYSA study presented at the 2018 European Hematology Association Congress.

Andre Goy, MD, chief, Division of Lymphoma, chairman and director, John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the progress made with immunotherapy for the treatment of hematologic malignancies over the last 5 years.

Neil E. Kay, MD, a professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, discusses the challenges that arise when treating a patient with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Most times, responses in this setting are short lived.

Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, discusses the findings with duvelisib plus fludarabine-cyclophosphamide-rituximab as a frontline therapy for younger patients with CLL, as well as the potential future for this agent in the treatment of patients with CLL.

Based on survival data from the phase III TOWER study, blinatumomab has been granted full marketing authorization by the European Commission for the treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative relapsed/refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to Amgen, the developer of the anti-CD19 immunotherapy.

Michael R. Grunwald, MD,&nbsp;discusses new and emerging agents in AML and ALL, as well as sequencing and toxicity challenges with these treatments.<br /> &nbsp;

Alexander Perl, MD, an associate professor of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses the current challenges with CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia

The biggest clinical unmet need in the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma is overcoming resistance to BTK inhibitors, as patients who progress on treatment with ibrutinib&nbsp;(Imbruvica) and acalabrutinib (Calquence) are often incurable, according to Michael Wang, MD. Investigators are now challenged to find a new avenue of treatment.

An overall response rate of&nbsp;41.6% (95% CI, 32.9-50.8) was induced with the use of ivosidenib in patients with&nbsp;<em>IDH1</em>-positive relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia, according to data presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting&nbsp;and published simultaneously online in the <em>New England Journal of Medicine</em>.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda) has been granted&nbsp;an accelerated approval by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with refractory primary mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma (PMBCL), or those who have relapsed after 2 or more prior lines of therapy.&nbsp;The approval is based on results from 53 patients with relapsed/refractory PMBCL enrolled in the multicenter, open-label, single-arm KEYNOTE&#8209;170 trial.

Noa Biran, MD, physician, Multiple Myeloma Division, John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the rationale for selecting stem cell transplant as treatment over a chemotherapy regimen for patients with multiple myeloma.

A supplemental new drug application adding overall survival data from the phase III ASPIRE trial to the label&nbsp;for carfilzomib (Kyprolis) has been approved by the FDA, according to Amgen, the manufacturer of the proteasome inhibitor.&nbsp; Carfilzomib is approved&nbsp;for use in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Myelofibrosis is a myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by&nbsp;splenomegaly, progressive cytopenias, and transformation to acute&nbsp;myeloid leukemia. This review&nbsp;will describe mutations detected in myelofibrosis and discuss how&nbsp;to incorporate mutation information into risk stratification and&nbsp;therapeutic decision making for patients with myelofibrosis.

In an ideal world, researchers conduct preclinical studies that generate a targeted therapy, which eventually makes its way through early, middle, and late-stage trial development and FDA approval. That smooth transition does not happen often, but early results involving an agent that affects 2 endogenous inhibitors of p53 look promising.

Noopur S. Raje, MD, a medical oncologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy in patients with multiple myeloma. This therapy has been an exciting advancement in both hematology as well as solid tumors, she notes.

Based on data from the phase III MURANO trial, venetoclax has been granted a regular approval by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, with or without 17p deletion, who has received at least 1 prior therapy.