ASH: Four Sessions You Won’t Want to Miss From This Year’s Meeting

1. Andrew Evens, DO, MsC, Division of Hematology and Oncology, the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts: Lymphoma in Pregnancy: Excellent Fetal Outcomes and Maternal Survival in a Large Multicenter Analysis

Sunday, December 11, 2011: 4:30 p.m.
Ballroom 20A (San Diego Convention Center)

Background: Lymphoma diagnosed during pregnancy is a rare occurrence. Further, there is heterogeneity in clinical presentation and a range of lymphoma histologies resulting in a continued deficiency of lymphoma-specific data in the literature regarding prognosis, optimal therapy, maternal complications, and fetal outcome.

Methods: A comprehensive retrospective analysis was completed for patients diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) or non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) during pregnancy at 9 large US academic centers over a 13-year period (1998-2011). The vast majority of cases were comanaged with high-risk maternal fetal medicine. Data on maternal disease characteristics, treatment details, obstetric complications, and fetal outcomes were analyzed.

FULL ABSTRACT

Stay tuned for a full-length podcast interview with Dr. Evens, live on CancerNetwork this sunday following Dr. Evens’ talk

2. Oliver W. Press, MD, PhD, Clinical Research Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington: A Phase III Randomized Intergroup Trial (SWOG S0016) of CHOP Chemotherapy Plus Rituximab Vs. CHOP Chemotherapy Plus Iodine-131-Tositumomab for the Treatment of Newly Diagnosed Follicular Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma

Sunday, December 11, 2011: 4:30 p.m.
Room 6B (San Diego Convention Center)

Background: Advanced follicular lymphomas (FL) are incurable with conventional chemotherapy and there is no consensus on the best treatment approach. The SWOG cancer research cooperative group and Cancer and Leukemia Group B (CALGB) compared the safety and efficacy of two immunochemotherapy regimens for FL in a Phase III randomized intergroup protocol (S0016) that enrolled 554 patients with previously untreated, advanced stage FL between 2001 and 2008.

Methods: Patients were eligible if they had advanced stage (bulky stage II, III or IV) evaluable FL of any grade (1, 2, or 3) and had not received any prior therapy. In one arm (CHOP-R), patients received 6 cycles of CHOP chemotherapy (750 mg/m² cyclophosphamide, 50 mg/m² doxorubicin, 1.4 mg/m² vincristine, and 100 mg prednisone daily for 5 days) at 3 week intervals with 6 doses of rituximab anti-CD20 antibody (375 mg/m² on days 1, 6, 48, 90, 134 and 141 according to the schedule described by Czuczman et al.[J.Clin.Oncol 17:268, 1999]). In the second arm of the protocol, patients received 6 cycles of CHOP, followed by a dosimetric infusion of tositumomab/iodine I-131 tositumomab and then 1–2 weeks later a therapeutic infusion of I-131-tositumomab labeled with sufficient I-131 (median 85 mCi) to deliver a total body dose of 75 cGy (CHOP-RIT). The study was designed to have 86% power to detect a hazard ratio (HR) of CHOP-RIT to CHOP-R of 0.67 for 2 yr PFS based on a one-sided .021 level test (accounting for 3 interim analyses).

FULL ABSTRACT

3. Christina H. Kalpadakis, MD, Haematology, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece: Treatment of Splenic Marginal Zone Lymphoma with Rituximab Monotherapy in 59 Patients

Sunday, December 11, 2011, 6:00 p.m.–8:00 p.m.
Hall GH (San Diego Convention Center)

Background: Treatment of splenic marginal zone lymphomas (SMZL) is traditionally based on splenectomy. However, preliminary data suggest that rituximab monotherapy is highly effective in SMZL patients. The aim was to assess the efficacy of rituximab administration in a large series of patients with SMZL, as upfront therapy.

Methods: Fifty-eight patients with the diagnosis of SMZL were prospectively treated, between 2003 and 2011, with rituximab monotherapy. Rituximab was given in two phases: Induction phase at a dose of 375 mg/m² per week for 6 weeks and maintenance phase at the same dose every 2 months for 1–2 years. Evaluation of response was performed 2 months after induction and 2 months after the end of maintenance phase.

FULL ABSTRACT

4. Ranjana H. Advani, MD, Department of Medicine/Oncology, Stanford University Medical Center, Stanford, CA: Brentuximab Vedotin (SGN-35) in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Systemic Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma: A Phase 2 Study Update

Monday, December 12, 2011: 10:30 a.m.
Ballroom 20A (San Diego Convention Center)

Background: Systemic anaplastic large cell lymphoma (sALCL) is a T-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) characterized by the uniform expression of CD30. sALCL accounts for 2% to 5% of all cases of NHL; approximately 40% to 65% of patients experience recurrent disease after frontline treatment with few effective treatment options. Brentuximab vedotin (SGN-35) comprises an anti-CD30 antibody conjugated by a protease-cleavable linker to the potent antimicrotubule agent, monomethyl auristatin E (MMAE). A phase II study was conducted to determine the efficacy and safety of brentuximab vedotin in patients with relapsed or refractory sALCL (ClinicalTrials.gov #NCT00866047); updated results of this trial are presented.

Methods: Brentuximab vedotin 1.8 mg/kg was administered every 3 weeks as a 30-minute outpatient IV infusion for up to 16 cycles of treatment. Determination of efficacy was based on objective response assessments per independent review according to the Revised Response Criteria for Malignant Lymphoma (Cheson 2007). Patients were enrolled between 2009 and 2010 at 22 clinical sites in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

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