In a clinical trial presented by Erba et al at the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) AnnualMeeting & Exposition (Abstract 211), vadastuximab talirine was found to be safe when used in combination with standard chemotherapy treatment for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The...
Patients who potentially could benefit most from participation in clinical trials due to poor prognoses often are not included based on eligibility criteria, such as existing medical illnesses. A novel study at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center revealed some patients with acute...
Patients successfully treated for breast, colon, and other cancers can go on to develop an often-fatal form of leukemia, sometimes years after completion of treatment, due to a genetic mutation leading to secondary malignancies known as therapy-related myeloid neoplasms. A study conducted by...
Children and young adults with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who receive chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy targeting CD22, a protein found on the surface of leukemic cells, appear to mount a clinical response and, in some cases, achieve remission....
A new analysis presented by Lancet et al at the 58th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition (Abstract 906) found older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) survived longer after receiving an allogeneic stem cell transplant if they were first treated with the...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted ponatinib (Iclusig) full approval for the treatment of adult patients with chronic-phase, accelerated-phase, or blast-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) for whom no ...
After nearly 2 decades of unsuccessful attempts, researchers from the University of Chicago Medicine and the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have created the first mouse model for the most common form of infant leukemia. Their discovery, reported by Lin et al in Cancer Cell, could...
An international team of researchers from the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital–Washington University Pediatric Cancer Genome Project has completed a detailed map of the genomic landscape for core-binding factor acute myeloid leukemia (CBF-AML). The work reveals differences in the...
Although targeted drugs like imatinib (Gleevec) have revolutionized the treatment of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), patients generally must take them for the rest of their lives and may cease benefiting from them over time. New research conducted by scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute...
A new study indicates that adolescent females with acute leukemia have low rates of pregnancy screening prior to receiving chemotherapy that can cause birth defects. These findings were published by Rao et al in Cancer. Although many chemotherapy drugs can cause birth defects, there are no...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for blinatumomab (Blincyto) to include new data supporting the treatment of pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute...
Genmab A/S announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a supplemental Biologics License Application for the use of ofatumumab (Arzerra) in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for the treatment of patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study compared outcomes of leukemia patients receiving bone marrow transplants from 2009 to 2014, finding that 3 years post transplant, the incidence of severe chronic graft-vs-host disease was significantly higher in patients who had received transplants from ...
Susan M. O’Brien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, discusses the challenges of treating older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma, and the positive results with newer regimens using blinatumomab and inotuzumab.
Juno Therapeutics, Inc, announced on July 12, 2016, that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has removed the clinical hold on the phase II clinical trial of JCAR015 (known as the ROCKET trial) in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Under the ...
Recent studies on a small number of patients with leukemia treated with bone marrow transplantation have suggested that the presence of the common cytomegalovirus (CMV) in patients or their donors may protect against relapse or even death after the transplant. A large international study published...
Sagar Lonial, MD, of Emory University School of Medicine, and Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discuss newly reported findings on rituximab maintenance therapy in hematologic malignancies (Abstracts 7503, 7504, and 7505).
Duke Cancer Institute researchers have found that a hypothetical leukemia patient buying the life-extending drug therapy for his condition would reach his annual out-of-pocket maximum in a month on most of the bronze policies and half of the silver policies offered through the Affordable Care Act...
Amgen announced on May 3 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for priority review the supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) for blinatumomab (Blincyto) to include new data supporting the treatment of pediatric and adolescent patients with Philadelphia...
On April 11, 2016, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved venetoclax (Venclexta) for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with 17p deletion, as detected by an FDA-approved test, who have received at least one prior therapy. Venetoclax is the first...
Jeffrey Jones, MD, MPH, of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the use of small molecule inhibitors in developing an individualized treatment plan for patients with CLL.
Jerald P. Radich, MD, of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses ways to prevent advanced-phase chronic myeloid leukemia through adherence to prescribed treatment and routine monitoring of disease burden.
Among patients with breast cancer, lung cancer, or chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), those who had a specific form of the CYP3A7 gene (CYP3A7*1C) had worse outcomes compared with those who did not have CYP3A7*1C. This may be related to how the patients metabolize the therapeutics used to treat...
Among children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common pediatric cancer, those who live in high-poverty areas are substantially more likely to suffer early relapse than other patients, despite having received the same treatment, according to new research from Dana-Farber/Boston...
An international research team has determined how inherited gene variations lead to severe drug toxicity that may threaten chances for a cure in children with leukemia. St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital scientists led the study, results of which set the stage to expand the use of a...
Pediatric oncologists from The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) have investigated techniques to improve and broaden a novel personalized cell therapy to treat children with cancer. The researchers say that a patient’s outcome may be improved if clinicians select specific...
The outcomes of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) have dramatically improved as the result of tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment. Use of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor regimen can lower the blood CML biomarker to levels imperceptible by current detection methods. For patients in “molecular...
Investigators at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) have found that significant bone loss occurs during the first month of chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), which is far earlier than previously assumed. Results of the study were published by Orgel et al in the...
Matthew Lunning, DO, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, on abstract 801, “Ublituximab, a Novel Glycoengineered Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody, in Combination with TGR-1202, a Next-Generation Once Daily PI3kδ Inhibitor, Demonstrates Activity in Heavily Pretreated and High-Risk Chronic...
Julie M. Vose, MD, MBA, FASCO, of the University of Nebraska Medical Center, offers her thoughts on abstract 801, “Ublituximab, a Novel Glycoengineered Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody, in Combination With TGR-1202, a Next-Generation Once-Daily PI3kδ Inhibitor, Demonstrates Activity in Heavily...
Hagop Kantarjian, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, offers his thoughts on abstract 380, “T Cells Engineered with a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR)-Targeting CD19 (CTL019) Have Long Term Persistence and Induce Durable Remissions in Children With Relapsed, Refractory ALL,”...
Hagop Kantarjian, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, offers his thoughts on abstract 794, “Inotuzumab Ozogamicin in Combination With Low-Intensity Chemotherapy (Mini-Hyper-CVD) as Front-Line Therapy for Older Patients (≥ 60 years) With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia,” presented ...
Hagop Kantarjian, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, offers his thoughts on abstract 379, “BLAST: A Confirmatory, Single-Arm, Phase II Study of Blinatumomab, a Bispecific T-Cell Engager (BiTE) Antibody Construct, in Patients With Minimal Residual Disease B-Precursor Acute...
Hagop Kantarjian, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, offers his thoughts on abstract 797, “First Results of the Multicenter Total Therapy Gimema LAL 1509 Protocol for De Novo Adult Philadelphia Chromosome–Positive Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Patients,” presented by Sabina...
2014 ASH President Linda J. Burns, MD, of the University of Minnesota, offers her thoughts on abstract 380, “T Cells Engineered With a Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) Targeting CD19 (CTL019) Have Long-Term Persistence and Induce Durable Remissions in Children with Relapsed, Refractory ALL,”...
2014 ASH President Linda J. Burns, MD, of the University of Minnesota, offers her thoughts on abstract 379, “BLAST: A Confirmatory, Single-Arm, Phase II Study of Blinatumomab, a Bispecific T-Cell Engager (BiTE) Antibody Construct, in Patients with Minimal Residual Disease B-Precursor Acute...
Richard M. Stone, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, offers his thoughts on abstract 6, "Sorafenib vs Placebo in Addition to Standard Therapy in Younger Patients With Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia: Results from 267 Patients Treated in the Randomized Placebo-Controlled SAL-Soraml Trial," ...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today approved ofatumumab (Arzerra) for extended treatment of patients who are in complete or partial response after at least two lines of therapy for recurrent or progressive chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Ofatumumab was previously approved for the...
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) has announced that it has passed the $1 billion mark in research investment, a significant milestone in the cancer research landscape as the Society continues its 65-year pursuit of advancing breakthrough therapies, finding cures, and ensuring access to...
Using a pediatric chemotherapy regimen to treat young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) significantly improved their outcomes compared to what has historically been achieved with “adult” treatment protocols, report Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists. Overall survival...
Ninety-three percent of pediatric patients (55 of 59) with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) went into remission after receiving an investigational therapy made from their own immune cells, with continuous remissions of over 1 year in 18 patients and over 2 years in nine...
Prophylactic antibiotics significantly reduce the risk of serious bacterial infections in children during the critical first month of treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common childhood cancer, according to a study led by investigators from Dana-Farber/Boston Children's...
A presentation by Tedeschi et al at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting outlined results of the phase III RESONATE TM-2 study of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) vs chlorambucil (Leukeran) in patients aged 65 years and older with treatment-naive chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small...
In a phase III study to be presented by Zelenetz et al at the 57th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, idelalisib (Zydelig) plus bendamustine (Treanda) and rituximab (Rituxan), or BR, proved superior to BR alone in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)...
In a study to be presented at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting by Stilgenbauer et al, monotherapy with the investigational agent venetoclax (ABT-199/GDC-0199) induced deep remissions—including complete remission and undetectable minimal residual...
The results of the randomized Graall-R 2005 study presented by Maury et al at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting found a new use for rituximab (Rituxan) in acute leukemia (Abstract 1). CD20 is present in 30% to 50% of patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphocytic...
A study presented by Stone et al at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting described a phase III trial of the first targeted therapy for genetically defined subset of patients with acute myeloid leukemia and its improvement of their survival (Abstract 6). Acute myeloid...
A study presented by Landier et al at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting examined the common problem of children in remission from acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) not adhering to their maintenance drug regimens, thus putting them at risk of relapse (Abstract 82). ...
A study to be reported by Raetz et al at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting examined the potential of using real-time genetic analysis to personalize chemotherapy regimens for children with B-cell lymphocytic leukemia (Abstract 807). The study findings were presented at a...
Two new studies to be reported at the 57th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting highlighted new insights on genetic mutations in children with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) that indicate a higher risk for debilitating chemotherapy-associated bone damage. The study findings were...