Leukemia

It turns out that CAR T cells can do more than directly attack cancer cells. They can be used as “micro-pharmacies” for precise therapeutic delivery in B-cell lymphomas.

Development of targeted therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents an ongoing challenge for the field. There is substantial promise, however, in several different approaches to targeted AML therapy, including IDH inhibitors, FLT3 inhibitors, and others.

The STIM1 study shows that patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who have undetectable minimal residual disease can safely discontinue imatinib therapy.

Clinicians and patients now have several options for frontline management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia; exactly which option is preferred remains up for debate.

The 5-year survival rate for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia has been below 10%. Immunotherapies, however, are starting to challenge that paradigm.

Because of the high cure rate in early-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma, reducing toxicity is a primary concern. One idea for doing so is a subject of ongoing research: is elimination of all radiotherapy in many of these patients a possibility?

In this interview we discuss the different types of T-cell lymphomas and how supportive care is used in the management of these malignancies.

Phase II data provide further evidence that patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia with 17p deletion have a new treatment option with ibrutinib.

The monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) improves event-free survival (EFS) among adults with CD20-positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to authors of a phase III clinical trial conducted in France and Switzerland.

The combination of dasatinib (Sprycel) and venetoclax (Venclexta) may have the potential to improve the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL), according to Oregon researchers.

A study found that the protein EZH2 is required for chronic myeloid leukemia initiating cells to survive. Inhibiting EZH2 could improve outcomes in TKI-resistant disease.

Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma have a high incidence of severe acute and persistent fatigue, regardless of their tumor stage or the treatment method chosen for their disease.

This review discusses the mechanisms of action, clinical development, and emerging applications of small-molecule inhibitors that target B-cell receptor signaling pathways, B-cell lymphoma-2 inhibitors, selective inhibitors of nuclear export, and epigenetic modifiers.

Prior to the advent of targeted therapies, there were few options other than chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Combining venetoclax (Venclexta, AbbVie and Genentech) plus a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the BCR-ABL oncogene can eradicate chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of the disease.

Use of lenalidomide monotherapy in patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma resulted in clinically meaningful antitumor activity, with 42% of phase II trial participants having objective responses.

Many adolescent girls with leukemia did not receive pregnancy screening before undergoing teratogenic exposure.

Genmab recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved ofatumumab (Arzerra®) combined with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The quantification of a patient’s MRD after treatment for CLL allowed for a more specific prediction of progression-free survival among patients who responded to treatment.

Data from the large, population-based EUTOS registry showed strong survival outcomes in patients with CML, and validated risk scores as prognostic of outcome.

The FDA is granting Orphan Drug Designation for chimeric antigen receptor engineered T-cells directed against the target protein CD4 (CD4CAR) for the treatment of peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) taking ibrutinib showed an antibody response to the influenza vaccine, according to a data from a small study.

Patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma treated with mogamulizumab prior to undergoing allo-HSCT were at significantly greater risk for graft-vs-host disease–related mortality.

In this review, we discuss the potential applications of monitoring ctDNA in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma.

An 84-year-old woman with a history of Graves disease, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension presented to her physician with progressive fatigue and palpable bilateral axillary lymphadenopathy.

It is clear that as our understanding of both aggressive and indolent lymphomas improves, the goals of treatment change and the bar for success is set higher.

A propensity score–matched comparison of two phase II trials found that dasatinib and nilotinib offer similar responses and outcomes as first-line therapy for patients with chronic-phase CML.

Patients with relapsed or refractory acute myelogenous leukemia respond to single-agent treatment with the B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) inhibitor venetoclax.

Early evaluation of ABCB1 mRNA expression may help identify CML patients who are likely to be resistant to first- and second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors.

An anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody called brentuximab vedotin demonstrated in a randomized phase III study a highly statistically significant improvement in rate of objective response lasting at least 4 months.