Your AI-Trained Oncology Knowledge Connection!
LYON, France-The addition of interferon-alfa-2b (IFN, Intron A) to the usual CHVP regimen (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, teniposide, prednisone) extends survival in elderly patients with high-risk follicular lymphoma, Dr. Bertrand Coiffier said at the ASH meeting.
DUISBERG, Germany-High-dose chemotherapy (with colony stimulating factor support) significantly increased complete remission rates in advanced Hodgkin’s disease in a German randomized trial reported by Heinrich Gerhartz, MD, at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.
GOTEBORG, Sweden-A postconsolidation regimen of low-dose interleukin-2 (IL-2) and the investigational agent histamine dihydrochloride (Maxamine) appears to increase leukemia-free survival in acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients in remission, Bo I. Nilsson, MD, PhD, reported at an ASH poster session.
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder that follows a characteristic clinical course in which a chronic phase of variable duration precedes an accelerated, and ultimately blastic, phase,
Chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is an intriguing disease for reasons that point to important biological differences between this and other types of leukemia:
Manifestations of mantle cell lymphoma were recognized in the 1970s as distinct from those associated with the more readily classifiable lymphomas. It was not until the 1990s, however, that observation of a combination of immunologic, cytogenetic, and molecular genetic abnormalities characteristic of this new malignancy confirmed its existence. The clinical and pathologic entity was named mantle cell lymphoma and in 1994 was incorporated into the Revised European American Lymphoma Classification. Mantle cell lymphoma is a CD5 positive, B-cell lymphoma that usually displays the t(11;14). The lymphoma has a striking male predominance and is widely disseminated at diagnosis in 80% of patients. Mantle cell lymphoma responds poorly to available therapies, and the median survival is approximately 3 years.[ONCOLOGY 12(Suppl 8):49-55, 1998]
TORONTO--Residual masses are a frequent finding after treatment of Hodgkin’s disease. However, CT scans and MRI cannot reliably distinguish between scar tissue and viable tumor in these patients. A German study suggests that whole-body 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) may be useful in determining the viability of these masses.
TORONTO--In a study of newly diagnosed patients with Hodgkin’s disease, nuclear medicine imaging detected advanced disease in a significant portion of patients originally classified as having only stage I or II disease. These patients were imaged using indium-111 octreotide (OctreoScan), also known as somatostatin-receptor scintigraphy.
Individualizing the dosage of cancer chemotherapy can increase survival rates for children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) without causing excessive toxicity, according to a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine.
The management of patients with the less aggressive subtypes of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma remains a clinical challenge. As pointed out by Webster and Cella, this challenge relates, at least in part, to the comparatively long median survival that can be achieved in such patients with a wide variety of treatment approaches. However, it is very important to realize that not all patients with the indolent varieties of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma are the same.
Cancer treatment often has debilitating effects on the patients who receive it. Chemotherapy regimens can produce toxicities, such as gastrointestinal disturbances, hematologic deficiencies, fatigue, and neurotoxicity. Patients typically undergo these chemotherapy regimens to increase their disease-free survival time. Given that these therapies can negatively affect a patient’s quality of life (QOL), treatments need to provide clear curative potential and/or survival benefits to offset detrimental effects on QOL.
SAN DIEGO-Up to 80% of newly diagnosed elderly acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) patients overexpress P-glycoprotein (P-gp), leading to multidrug resistance and a poor prognosis, said Dr. P. Sonneveld, University Hospital, Rotterdam, in a presentation at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) annual meeting.
Researchers found that men who use cocaine are twice as likely as abstainers to develop intermediate- or high-grade non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). For those who use cocaine more frequently, ie, on at least nine occasions, the risk is more than triple what nonusers face, says Rebecca Nelson, a doctoral student in the preventive medicine department at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Medicine, in an article published recently in the British Journal of Cancer.
ASH-Patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) who are eligible for transplant but lack a matched sibling donor should begin their search for an unrelated donor as soon as possible after diagnosis, A. James Morton, MD, said at the plenary session of the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Diego.
Drs. Enright and McGlave succinctly review the biology of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and highlight the therapeutic role of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation. Two points, however, warrant further discussion. The first is that a regimen containing interferon-alfa (Intron A, Roferon-A) is optimal front-line therapy for the great majority of CML patients.[1] The second is that use of an interferon-alfa-based regimen prior to allogeneic stem-cell transplantation does not adversely affect post-transplant mortality, morbidity, or anti-CML efficacy.
NEW ORLEANS--A cytogenetic biomarker may be able to predict second cancers in patients with Hodgkin's disease, Sara Strom, PhD, of M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, reported at the American Society of Preventive Oncology (ASPO) annual meeting.
ASCO--Treatment with an investigational immunoconjugate, CMA-676, safely induced remissions in some patients with refractory or relapsed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), Eric L. Sievers, MD, said in his poster presentation of the preliminary results at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting.
VIENNA--The first Hodgkin's disease study updates to come out of the Milan Cancer Institute since 1989 have now confirmed that the therapeutic advantages of regimens containing ABVD (Adriamycin, bleomycin, vinblastine, dacarbazine) are sustained for nearly two decades.
ORLANDO--Combination therapy utilizing interferon alfa-2b (Intron A) and cytarabine is associated with improved cytogenetic response and survival over interferon alone in patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), a French study, presented at the 38th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), has shown.
ORLANDO--A preparative regimen employing a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody (MoAb), coupled with busulfan (Myleran) and cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan, Neosar), yielded a low relapse rate in patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) undergoing bone marrow transplantation (BMT) while in first remission.
Leukemia Society of America (LSA) scientist Dr. Brian Druker has described a drug that may be useful for combatting chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). The new drug may be able to target leukemia cells, a much sought-after approach to cancer treatment.
Responding to the need for more efficacious and less toxic treatments for chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), researchers at the University of Pennsylvania are exploring a novel form of gene therapy. By interfering with the transmission of a crucial message, they hope to prevent malignant cell growth without affecting normal hematopoietic cells.
Following unmodified allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), up to 60% of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) will relapse. The management of relapsed CML has proven especially difficult, because cytotoxic drugs and interferon-alfa (Intron A, Roferon-A) seldom cure the disease, and a second bone marrow transplant is associated with high mortality.
BOSTON--Researchers at New England Deaconess Hospital are seeking patients with Hodgkin's disease, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), and chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) for an FDA-sponsored study of a humanized anti-Tac (interleukin-2 receptor) monoclonal antibody. The phase Ib/II multidose trial will study tolerance, therapeutic efficacy, and biological efficacy.
The bulk of available evidence has made a persuasive case for early bone marrow transplantation as the treatment of choice for patients with relapsed Hodgkin's disease, Philip J. Bierman, MD, said at a lymphoma conference sponsored by the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.
SEATTLE--While about 65% of adults with newly diagnosed, acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) are able to achieve complete remission of their disease, this remission is often short-lived when conventional postremission regimens are used. However, new approaches to postremission therapy are proving beneficial to patients, Robert J. Mayer, MD, said at a symposium held in conjunction with the American Society of Hematology's 37th Annual Meeting.
