HEMATOLOGY

Latest News


Latest Videos


CME Content


More News

The B-Cell Lymphoma Moon Shot Program at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center wants to increase the cure rate of the disease from 30% to 60% within 5 years. In a presentation at the <em>22nd Annual</em> International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, Michael Wang, MD, detailed results from 3 clinical trials that may help make that 5-year goal into a reality for patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&trade;, a print and digital resource that offers content and expert opinions on precision medicine in oncology, will launch the first Expert Perspective: Virtual Tumor Board on April 30. The Virtual Tumor Board is a video-editorial board discussion that features key opinion leaders from a specific oncological field.

Owen O&rsquo;Connor, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, discusses the possibility of using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies for the treatment of patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). This can be tricky for a number of reasons, but O&rsquo;Connor is hopeful that there are treatment regimens for this patient population that can work.

Joshua R. Richter, MD, a hematologist/oncologist at John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses results from the Living with Cancer patient-reported outcomes (PROs) tool, which is a survey to record self-reported symptoms from patients. Richter used this tool to survey 239 patients with multiple myeloma on their symptoms and psychological distress.

The field of mantle cell lymphoma underwent a significant change with the FDA approval of ibrutinib in 2013. Now, the recent approval of&nbsp;acalabrutinib has similarly impacted the treatment landscape, as experts say it could be associated with slightly fewer adverse events than ibrutinib, according to Andre Goy, MD.

Venetoclax induced a response in two-thirds of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia who had progressed after receiving prior therapy with idelalisib, according to findings of a phase II study recently published in <em>Blood</em>.

According to Neil E. Kay, MD, novel agents,&nbsp;such as&nbsp;ibrutinib (Imbruvica), venetoclax (Venclexta), idelalisib (Zydelig), and acalabrutinib (Calquence), are revolutionizing treatment for patients with chronic&nbsp;lymphocytic leukemia. However, the best way to sequence these agents to maximize the benefit to patients is still unclear.

Studies have shown that older patients with either active, relapsed, or refractory acute myeloid leukemia have had lower survival rates, poor risk assessments, and limited therapeutic options. The standard care of these patients is salvage chemotherapy. Investigators are pretreating patients in this high-risk population with Iomab-B, a novel radiolabeled antibody&ndash;drug conjugate&nbsp;as part of a stem cell transplantation regimen in hopes of improving remission and survival outcomes.

The treatment paradigm of chronic lymphocytic leukemia continues to advance, with many ongoing clinical trials investigating combinations seeking to build upon the success seen with Bruton&rsquo;s tyrosine kinase inhibitors. Such potential combination therapies for CLL include venetoclax (Venclexta) with either ibrutinib (Imbruvica) or acalabrutinib (Calquence).

According to results published in <em>The&nbsp;New England Journal of Medicine</em>, molecular minimal residual disease was associated with a higher rate of relapse and a lower rate of relapse-free survival and overall survival for patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia.

Miguel-Angel Perales, MD, deputy chief of Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses what experts are expecting to change in the treatment landscape of non-Hodgkin&rsquo;s lymphoma in the next year. Perales says by the end of 2018, there may be 3 CAR T-cell therapies approved for the treatment of non-Hodgkin&rsquo;s lymphoma.

Several new indications were approved by the FDA in March, including blinatumomab (Blincyto)&nbsp;for MRD+ ALL, brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) for Hodgkin lymphoma, and a 4-week nivolumab (Opdivo) dosing schedule across several indications. Here&rsquo;s a look back on the FDA happenings for the month of March 2018.