LYMPHOMAS

Latest News


Latest Videos


CME Content


More News

While relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is considered an aggressive disease, new findings show patients may benefit from adding chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy to their treatment regimen. ZUMA-2, a currently ongoing trial, aims to understand the potential benefits with axicabtagene ciloleucel, an anti-CD19 CAR T-cell product, for patients with relapsed/refractory MCL.

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.

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.

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.

Based on findings from the phase III ECHELON-1 trial,&nbsp;brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) has been approved by the FDA for use in&nbsp;combination with chemotherapy as a frontline treatment for adult patients with stage III or IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma,&nbsp;according to a statement from Seattle Genetics, the manufacturer of the CD30-targeted antibody-drug conjugate.

Responses to lisocabtagene maraleucel have been potent and durable in the&nbsp;treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.&nbsp;Separate exploratory&nbsp;analyses of this population treated with liso-cel found that high tumor burden and a series of in ammatory biomarkers were associated with high chimeric antigen receptor T-cell expansion and higher rates of cytokine release syndrome and neurotoxicity.

Tazemetostat showed efficacy in heavily treated patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma in interim results from a phase II trial. Investigators hope that the analysis of a 62-gene panel biomarker performed on the same patient population will help to identify the patients who will have an even stronger response to the oral EZH2 inhibitor developed by Epizyme.