February 25, 2022 - Supplement: Conference Highlights ASH 2021 (View All Issues)
Highlights From the 2021 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and successful hybrid format dominated much of the discussion at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, but the lasting impact of the meeting will be the groundbreaking research that was presented. Throughout all diseases,...
CHIP Mutations Associated With Lower Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
The presence of clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential, or CHIP, increases the risk of developing a myeloid malignancy and also cardiovascular disease—which are well-established findings—but it may also protect against developing Alzheimer’s disease, according to findings reported at...
Aggressive Supportive Treatment for COVID-19 May Be Needed in Patients With Hematologic Cancers
New research underscores the need for aggressive support of patients hospitalized with blood cancer and COVID-19, according to data presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.
Two studies of one of the largest data sets of patients with blood cancer...
Improved Outcomes With Time-Limited Venetoclax Combinations vs Chemoimmunotherapy in Fit Patients with CLL
Administering time-limited regimens that were combinations of venetoclax plus obinutuzumab or venetoclax plus obinutuzumab and ibrutinib was superior to chemoimmunotherapy in achieving undetectable measurable residual disease in the peripheral blood at month 15 in fit patients with chronic...
Fixed-Duration Venetoclax Plus Ibrutinib Achieves Deep and Durable MRD Remissions in CLL
Two different trials presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition found that fixed-duration treatment with ibrutinib and venetoclax achieved deep and sustained undetectable measurable residual disease (MRD) status when used as first-line therapy for...
AGILE: Addition of Ivosidenib to Azacitidine Triples Median Overall Survival in Difficult-to-Treat AML Population
In patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with an IDH1 mutation who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy, the addition of the IDH1 inhibitor ivosidenib to azacitidine significantly improved survival vs azacitidine alone, according to data presented at the 2021 American...
BELINDA: CAR T-Cell Therapy Fails to Improve Outcomes in Aggressive Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
The autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel failed to improve event-free survival vs standard-of-care treatment strategies in patients with aggressive, relapsed or refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), according to the results of the phase III BELINDA trial,...
POLARIX: Addition of Polatuzumab Vedotin-piiq to Standard of Care Significantly Reduces Progression of Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma
As a first-line treatment of intermediate- or high-risk diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, the addition of the antibody-drug conjugate polatuzumab vedotin-piiq to standard-of-care therapy resulted in a 27% reduction in the relative risk of disease progression, relapse, or death, with a similar safety...
TRANSFORM: Lisocabtagene Maraleucel Improves Outcomes in Relapsed or Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy with lisocabtagene maraleucel could prove to be the new standard-of-care treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma in the second-line setting, according to data presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH)...
ZUMA-7: Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Quadruples Event-Free Survival in Large B-Cell Lymphoma
In the primary analysis of the phase III ZUMA-7 trial, examining second-line therapy for relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, the CAR T-cell therapy axicabtagene ciloleucel led to a fourfold increase in event-free survival over the standard of care. These findings were presented at the...
Mosunetuzumab Meets Primary Endpoint of Phase II Trial in Relapsed or Refractory Follicular Lymphoma
The bispecific antibody mosunetuzumab achieved deep and durable remissions as monotherapy in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, according to the results of a pivotal phase II trial presented at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition.1 In ...
PANTHER: No Significant Benefit for Pevonedistat Plus Azacitidine in Higher-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome
The phase III PANTHER trial, which evaluated pevonedistat plus azacitidine vs azacitidine alone in higher-risk myelodysplastic syndromes, chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, and low–blast count acute myeloid leukemia (AML) failed to meet its primary endpoint of event-free survival,1 though lessons...
Studies Evaluate Screening for Early Multiple Myeloma
Precursors to multiple myeloma were identified by population screening in two studies reported at the 2021 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. The prevalence of monoclonal gammopathies was determined in the PROMISE trial using cutting-edge technology in a high-risk ...
Isatuximab-Containing Induction Therapy for Multiple Myeloma Increases Measurable Residual Disease Negativity
For the first-line treatment of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, the percentage of patients achieving measurable residual disease (MRD, previously called minimal residual disease) negativity was significantly greater when the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab was added to a standard...
