LEUKEMIAS

John F. Seymour, MBBS, PhD, discusses some emerging themes from recent research for targeted therapies as treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Christopher R. Cogle, MD, a professor of medicine at the University of Florida, discusses the greatest challenge in treating patients with myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia.

Clinical researchers Dennis Slamon, MD, PhD, and Brian Druker, MD, were recently honored with the 2019 Sjöberg Prize for their ground-breaking contributions toward targeted therapy for patients with breast cancer and chronic myeloid leukemia, respectively.

Lead iLLUMINATE study author Carol Moreno, MD, PhD, discusses the safety and efficacy results from the iLLUMINATE trial which led to the FDA approval of ibrutinib plus obinutuzumab in CLL.

Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, discusses findings from an updated analysis of the phase III DUO study in patients with CLL.

A look back at all the FDA news in oncology from the month of January 2019, including several new approvals, breakthrough therapy designations, and a partial clinical hold.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Ian W. Flinn, MD, PhD, discussed the potential impact of duvelisib&nbsp;on patients with CLL. Flinn serves as the lead investigator of the DYNAMO and DUO studies in duvelisib.

The combination of ibrutinib and obinutuzumab has gained FDA approval for the first-line treatment of patients with&nbsp;chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, based&nbsp;on data from the phase III iLLUMINATE trial.

Jordan Gauthier, MD, MSc, discussed the results presented at the 2018 ASH Annual for this clinical trial and where the research is headed for patients with CLL. He also highlights another promising combination for this patient population that was presented at the meeting as well.

A triplet regimen consisting of chlorambucil and rituximab in combination with an individualized dose of lenalidomide can potentially be used as a frontline treatment for patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia who are older or unfit for standard treatment with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab.

Jordan Gauthier, MD, MSc, discusses the rationale for combining ibrutinib with CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor T cells for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Kerry A. Rogers, MD,&nbsp;discusses phase II findings with obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax and the future of dose-limited regimens in CLL.

Dasatinib (Sprycel) tablets has been approved by the FDA to be used in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients &ge;1 year of age with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.<br /> &nbsp;

Precision medicine has produced some dramatic successes in patients with advanced cancer. With developments in molecular profiling, targeted therapies are being applied to multiple tumors, most notably in advanced melanoma, NSCLC, and several types of leukemia. Alison Schram, MD, and David M. Hyman, MD, point out the challenges in determining the proportion of patients who will benefit from receiving targeted therapies.

Nicole Lamanna, MD, discusses the significance of the 3-year follow-up data from the MURANO trial in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The combination of venetoclax with rituximab led to high rates of undetectable minimal residual disease for patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphoblastic leukemia. This was associated with a prolonged progression-free survival, according to a new analysis of a randomized trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

The BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib demonstrated promising reponse rates in patients with&nbsp;newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to results from an&nbsp;open-label phase II trial.

During a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>case-based peer perspective presentation, William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, revealed the treatment options and decisions he makes when treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Wierda explained his treatment decisions based on a patient&rsquo;s case scenario.

<br /> Farhad Ravandi-Kashani, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the rationale for targeting CD33 with AMG 330 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Although there were a variety of encouraging data presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, CLL and multiple myeloma undoubtedly ruled the day, according to poll results. As these topics heated up on Twitter, a few experts took a moment to discuss their thoughts on some of the top abstracts that were presented.

A newly discovered recurrent mutation in the&nbsp;B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 protein&nbsp;in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia has been linked to venetoclax resistance.

Venetoclax monotherapy induced high rates of minimal residual disease in the peripheral blood and bone marrow in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory chronic lymphoblastic leukemia in a pooled analysis of 2 clinical trials. Data from the analysis was reported during the poster session at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

According to results from a small clinical study, checkpoint&nbsp;inhibitors in combination with&nbsp;chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy showed promise for improving CAR T-cell persistance in some patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

Patients with&nbsp;acute lymphoblastic leukemia saw a reduction in the risk for recurrence after receiving a stem cell transplant for the first time following treatment with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

According to updated data from the phase II ELIANA study,&nbsp;CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel as treatment of&nbsp;pediatric and young adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia sustained rates of&nbsp;relapse-free survival and overall survival at 24 and 18 months.&nbsp;