2017 ASH Annual Meeting
Axicabtagene Ciloleucel CAR T-Cell Therapy Active in Refractory Large B-Cell Lymphoma
As reported at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting & Exposition and in The New England Journal of Medicine by Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer...
Fine-Tuning Treatment in Myeloma and Leukemia
It is a difficult task to include every notable presentation from the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. In addition to our more comprehensive coverage of the n...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, and S. Vincent Rajkumar, MD
AT A PREMEETING webinar, American Society of Hematology then President Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, Director of the Lebow Institute for Myeloma Therapeutics and Jerome Lipper Myeloma Center at Dana-Farbe...
Unique CAR T-Cell Construct Studied in Multiple Myeloma
CD19-DIRECTED chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of leukemia (tisagenlecleucel [Kymriah]) and lymphoma (axicab...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD
INTERVIEWED BY The ASCO Post, Andrzej Jakubowiak, MD, PhD, Director of the Multiple Myeloma Program at the University of Chicago Medical Center, commented on the “controversial findings” of EMN02/HO9...
European Study Shows Double Transplant Improves Survival in Myeloma
FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED patients with multiple myeloma considered to be at high risk of disease progression, double autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) significantly prolongs progression-free and ...
Data Favoring Maintenance Therapy in Older Patients With AML Accumulate
The use of maintenance therapy in older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is theoretically sensible, but its clinical value remains uncertain. The phase III HOVON97 randomized study demonstra...
Study Findings on Novel Agents in Neoplastic Hematology
HERE IS AN UPDATE on four different studies featured at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. Topics focus on advanced systemic mastocytosis, diffuse large B-...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Robert Brodsky, MD
“THE RESULTS of these two trials are more similar than different. I think the best conclusion would be that we now have two trials with consistent results and can probably, in most cases, replace low–...
Use of Direct Oral Anticoagulants in Preventing VTE in Patients With Cancer
THE FIRST TWO randomized trials to directly compare direct oral anticoagulants vs low–molecular-weight heparin for management of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in patients with cancer suggest that direc...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Neil P. Shah, MD, PhD; Joseph M. Connors, MD; and Kenneth C. Anderson, MD
NEIL P. SHAH, MD, PhD, Leader of the Hematopoietic Malignancies Program at the University of California, San Francisco, Helen Diller Family Cancer Comprehensive Cancer Center, noted that BLU- 285 cou...
Novel Agent Appears Active in Advanced or Aggressive Systemic Mastocytosis
THE INVESTIGATIONAL agent BLU-285 (avapritinib) has shown significant activity in patients with advanced or aggressive forms of systemic mastocytosis, a rare blood disorder that originates in mast cel...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Dan Vogl, MD
SESSION MODERATOR Dan Vogl, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, told The ASCO Post that the results with 11-1F4 were “very impressive” adding “everyone...
Amyloid-Targeting Antibody Elicits Organ Responses in Patients With Amyloidosis
IN PREVIOUSLY treated patients with amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, the chimeric fibril-reactive monoclonal antibody 11-1F4 (CAEL-101) produced organ responses in about two-thirds of patients in...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Dan Vogl, MD
MYELOMA SPECIALIST Dan Vogl, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, told The ASCO Post that the potential use of daratumumab (Darzalex) in amyloid light-...
Daratumumab Shows Efficacy in Amyloid Light-Chain Amyloidosis
DARATUMUMAB (DARZALEX) may be an effective treatment for systemic amyloid light-chain (AL) amyloidosis, according to phase II studies reported at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual ...
EXPERT POINT OF VIEW: Ken Shain, MD
KEN SHAIN, MD, Assistant Member of the Department of Malignant Hematology and Tumor Biology, Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, and Scientific Director of the Moffitt Myeloma Working Group, mod...
For Patients Treated for Myeloma, Antibiotic Prophylaxis May Reduce Infections and Deaths
IN PATIENTS undergoing treatment of multiple myeloma, the prophylactic use of levofloxacin significantly reduced febrile episodes and deaths, without increasing healthcare-associated infections or car...
Venetoclax Plus Rituximab Outperforms Standard Bendamustine Plus Rituximab in CLL
Venetoclax (Venclexta) plus rituximab (Rituxan)—a non–chemotherapy-containing regimen—was superior to standard-of-care bendamustine plus rituximab for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic ly...
Update on CAR T-Cell ‘Breakthrough’ Therapy in Lymphoma
Primary analysis of the JULIET trial adds to mounting evidence that chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is effective for the treatment of lymphoma in patients with no other good treatment o...
Best Outcomes to Date in Older Patients With Hodgkin Lymphoma
Older patients with Hodgkin lymphoma typically do not fare as well as younger patients on standard regimens. A phase II study reported the best outcomes to date in older patients with Hodgkin lymph...
Carfilzomib-Based Treatment and Transplant in Smoldering Myeloma
Can aggressive treatment of high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma patients prevent disease worsening? A carfilzomib (Kyprolis)-based regimen and autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) plus maintenance...
Study Findings on Novel Therapies for Hematologic Malignancies
Here is an update on five different studies featured at the 2017 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition. Topics center on possible newer treatment regimens in both Hod...
Mogamulizumab in Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
The anti-CCR4 monoclonal antibody mogamulizumab may answer an unmet need in providing an effective treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. In the phase III MAVORIC trial reported at the 2017 American...
Front-Line Brentuximab Plus AVD vs Standard ABVD in Advanced Hodgkin Lymphoma
FRONT-LINE TREATMENT of advanced Hodgkin lymphoma with brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus doxorubicin/ vinblastine/dacarbazine (A+AVD) achieved superior outcomes compared with the standard four-drug...
Phase II Data for Venetoclax/Ibrutinib Combination in Relapsed or Refractory Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
THE COMBINATION of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) plus venetoclax (Venclexta) achieved favorable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to initial resu...
Expert Point of View: Keith Stewart, MB, ChB
COMMENTING ON the ALCYONE trial for The ASCO Post, Keith Stewart, MB, ChB, the Carlson and Nelson Endowed Director of the Center for Individualized Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, ...
Daratumumab Improves Progression-Free Survival in Front-Line Myeloma Setting
FOR NEWLY DIAGNOSED multiple myeloma patients not eligible for transplant, the addition of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody daratumumab (Darzalex) to subcutaneous bortezomib (Velcade), melphalan, and...
Updated Follow-up of ZUMA-1 Confirms Benefit of CAR T-Cell Therapy in Aggressive B-Cell Lymphoma
POSITIVE DATA about chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in lymphoma continue to accrue. Long-term follow-up of the pivotal ZUMA-1 trial shows that patients with refractory diffuse large B-c...
ASH 2017: Acalabrutinib Demonstrates Activity in Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma
At the 59th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Wang et al presented results from the open-label, single-arm phase II ACE-LY-004 clinical trial, which served as the b...
ASH 2017: Dasatinib Plus Standard Chemotherapy Demonstrates 3-Year Survival Benefit in Pediatric Patients With Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive ALL
At the 59th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, Hunger et al presented data from the phase II CA180-372 study in pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia ...
ASH 2017: ALCANZA Trial: Brentuximab Vedotin in CD30-Expressing Cutaneous T-Cell Lymphoma
Updated results from the phase III ALCANZA clinical trial evaluating brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in CD30-expressing cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) were presented by Horwitz et al at the 59th Amer...
ASH 2017: Low–Molecular-Weight Heparin/Edoxaban vs Dalteparin for VTE Associated With Cancer
People with cancer face an increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). Under current guidelines, cancer patients who develop VTE are prescribed low–molecular-weight heparin, an anticoagulan...
ASH 2017: HERCULES Trial: Caplacizumab Shows Dramatic Improvements for Acquired Thrombotic Thrombocytopenic Purpura
In a phase III trial, patients with acquired thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP), a rare blood clotting disorder, who received the investigational drug caplacizumab showed significant improvemen...
ASH 2017: Abatacept Nearly Eliminates Severe Acute GVHD After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
Results from a phase II clinical trial presented by Kean et al at the 59th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting (Abstract 212) show that the drug abatacept (Orencia) nearly eliminated l...
ASH 2017: MURANO Trial: Venetoclax Found Superior to Standard Chemotherapy When Combined With Rituximab in CLL
In the phase III MURANO trial, treatment with the targeted cancer drug venetoclax (Venclexta) in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) more than doubled the likelihood that patients with chronic lympho...
ASH 2017: ALCYONE Trial: Adding Daratumumab to Bortezomib, Melphalan, and Prednisone in Multiple Myeloma
The first randomized trial to evaluate the use of a monoclonal antibody for treating newly diagnosed multiple myeloma showed that adding the drug daratumumab (Darzalex) to one of the standard treatmen...
ASH 2017: People Aged 75 Years and Older Are Underrepresented in Blood Cancer Clinical Trials
In the first comprehensive analysis of clinical trial enrollment among older adults with blood cancers, researchers from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found significant gaps in participa...
Maria-Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD, on Multiple Myeloma: Results From the ALCYONE Trial
Maria-Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD, of the University Hospital of Salamanca, discusses phase III study findings on daratumumab plus bortezomib, melphalan, and prednisone vs bortezomib, melphalan, and pred...
John F. Seymour, MBBS, PhD, on CLL: Results From the MURANO Study
John F. Seymour, MBBS, PhD, of the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, discusses an interim analysis of venetoclax plus rituximab vs bendamustine plus rituximab in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic...
Joseph M. Connors, MD, on Untreated Hodgkin Lymphoma: Results From the ECHELON-1 Trial
Joseph M. Connors, MD, of the British Columbia Cancer Agency, discusses study findings on a new front-line option: brentuximab vedotin plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine in patients with p...
Brian T. Hill, MD, PhD, on Mantle Cell Lymphoma in Younger Patients: Improvement in Overall Survival
Brian T. Hill, MD, PhD, of the Cleveland Clinic, discusses study findings that showed consolidation with autologous hematopoietic cell transplant in the first remission improves overall survival in pa...
Gilles A. Salles, MD, PhD, on Follicular Lymphoma: Long-Term Results From the PRIMA Trial
Gilles A. Salles, MD, PhD, of the Université de Lyon, discusses study findings on rituximab maintenance after induction immunochemotherapy and the significant long-term progression-free survival benef...
Mark J. Roschewski, MD, on Burkitt Lymphoma: Clinical Trial Results on DA-EPOCH-R
Mark J. Roschewski, MD, of the National Cancer Institute, discusses phase II study findings that showed DA-EPOCH-R cures most adult patients with Burkitt lymphoma, irrespective of HIV status (Abstract...
Jakub Svoboda, MD, on Primary Mediastinal Large B-Cell, Diffuse Large B-Cell, and Gray Zone Lymphomas: Early-Phase Treatment Findings
Jakub Svoboda, MD, of the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, discusses some encouraging phase I/II results on brentuximab vedotin with R-CHP chemotherapy as front-line treatment of CD...
Andrew M. Evens, DO, on Gray Zone Lymphoma: Results From a Multicenter Study
Andrew M. Evens, DO, of Tufts University, discusses findings on the effectiveness of DLBCL-based therapy for patients whose disease fell between diffuse large B-cell and classical Hodgkin lymphoma (Ab...
Tycel J. Phillips, MD, on Intravascular DLBCL: Study of Patient Features and Outcomes
Tycel J. Phillips, MD, of the University of Michigan Medical School, discusses the findings of the largest retrospective study to date of patients with intravascular diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, a d...
Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, on DLBCL: Radiation Therapy Findings
Laurie H. Sehn, MD, MPH, of the British Columbia Cancer Agency and University of British Columbia, discusses long-term results of PET-guided radiation therapy in patients with advanced-stage diffuse l...
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, and Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, on NHL: Results From the ZUMA-1 Trial
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Sattva S. Neelapu, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuss long-term study findings on axicabtagen...
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, and Stephen J. Schuster, MD, on DLBCL: Results of the JULIET Trial
Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and Stephen J. Schuster, MD, of the Abramson Cancer Center, University of Pennsylvania, discuss phase II findings on tisagenlecl...
