Author: Editor

Affordable treatment reduces the burden on the healthcare services and increases the chances of NICE approval. Speaking from the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) 20th Annual Symposium 2017 in Glasgow, UK, Ms Man-Chie Chow from the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK discusses how NICE may assess new treatments alongside lenalidomide for multiple myeloma and provides an overview of the methods that pharmaceutical companies can use to make new treatments more affordable whilst adhering to ABPI rules.

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Streamlining the administration process of drug price agreements can greatly reduce the labor of pharmacists. In this interview at the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) 20th Annual Symposium 2017 in Glasgow, UK, Ms Man-Chie Chow from the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, UK discusses the current responsibilities of pharmacists when commissioning groups and pharmaceutical companies agree on drug prices, and highlights the need to update this process.

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There are now three small molecule inhibitors to choose from for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL): Ibrutinib, idelalisib and venetoclax. In this video, Susan OBrien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, CA, discusses the indications and reasoning for which to use, switching between them and sequencing. Prof. OBrien also covers combining these agents with one other and antibodies, in addition to resistance. This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA.

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With many promising novel therapeutic agents exiting pharmaceutical pipelines, a question that arises is whether standard chemotherapy regimens with long-term data should be shunned or altered in favor of newer small molecule inhibitors. In this insightful interview, Susan OBrien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, CA, discusses the Phase II study of ibrutinib, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and obinutuzumab (iFCG) as a first-line treatment for patients with IGHV-mutated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Prof. OBrien highlights the reasoning behind the agents combined in this study, and what the results of the study tell us and how they may inform future studies. This…

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A novel BTK inhibitor, acalabrutinib, is showing promise in the early clinical trial stages for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Speaking from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA, Susan OBrien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, CA, discusses the benefits of acalabrutinib over ibrutinib and why this may be. Prof. OBrien highlights the main studies of this agent for CLL, including as a monotherapy (ACE-CL-001; NCT02029443) and in combination with ACP-319 (ACE-CL-002; NCT02157324) in the relapsed/refractory setting, and in the frontline setting in combination with obinutuzumab (ACE-CL-003; NCT02296918).

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Antibody-chemotherapy combinations are a standard treatment for hematological malignancies, and with an increase in small molecules coming through the pharmaceutical pipeline, the question is now will these be as effective in combination with chemotherapy? In this interview, Susan OBrien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, CA, discusses an interesting study presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA. This Phase II trial investigated the effect of ibrutinib plus rituximab vs. ibrutinib monotherapy (NCT02007044) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Speaking from the meeting, Prof. OBrien discusses the results observed, the reasoning behind…

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Older patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have significantly worse outcomes; thus, there is a great need for improved treatments in this group. In this interview, Susan OBrien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, CA, discusses updated data presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA, for the use of inotuzumab ozogamicin in elderly ALL. This included the use of the antibody-drug conjugate in combination with low-intensity chemotherapy (mini-hyper-CVD) for relapsed/refractory ALL, as well as in the frontline setting (NCT01371630). This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH)…

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In this interview, Susan OBrien, MD, of the University of California, Irvine, CA, talks to us about the next-generation PI3K? inhibitor umbralisib for patients with relapsed/refractory lymphoid malignancies. Speaking from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA, Prof. OBrien discusses the large-scale safety data presented. She highlights the importance of this data, and compares umbralisib to idelalisib and duvelisib.

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One of the controversies surrounding the use of minimal residual disease (MRD) is the optimal technique for its assessment. Speaking from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA, Prof. Landgren gives his take on the best method for MRD assessment. Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses robustness, reproducibility and sensitivity. He highlights the current limitations of even our best methods of MRD measurement. In addition, he discusses the clinical process of determining MRD in multiple myeloma (MM).

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The use of minimal residual disease (MRD) status in the clinic and trials is a promising, yet controversial, area of research. In this informative interview, Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses the Phase I/II clinical trial that his group is participating in (NCT02937571), which is investigating high-dose twice weekly carfilzomib treatment for multiple myeloma (MM). Interestingly, Prof. Landgren highlights how the study is using MRD as the primary endpoint and to guide the number of cycles of treatment. He also predicts the use of MRD to guide cancer therapy in future.…

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The treatments available for smoldering multiple myeloma (MM) are limited, with typical recommendations of observation or enrollment in clinical trials. Here, Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses the Phase II randomized, open-label, multicenter CENTAURUS study of daratumumab monotherapy for high- and intermediate-risk smoldering MM (NCT02316106). Prof. Landgren provides overview of the three study arms, in addition to the two primary endpoints and results. He also discusses plans for a Phase III study and the promise of this treatment. This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual…

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Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has been widely used in research for the past decade or more; however, its translation into the clinic has taken more time. Here, Ola Landgren, MD, PhD, from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discusses the limits to widespread NGS implementation and how we can overcome them. This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA.

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When FLT3 inhibitors were first on the horizon, expectations were high, with hopes that they would have a similar level of efficacy to single agent treatments in other hematological malignancies. Speaking from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA, Dr Stone provides a comprehensive overview of the expectations and results seen from treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients with first-generation FLT3 inhibitors. Richard Stone, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, then discusses our increased understanding of these agents and how our use of them has evolved, with the development of second-generation…

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The development of IDH inhibitors for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been a smoother journey than that for FLT3 inhibitors. Speaking from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA, Richard Stone, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, provides a comprehensive summary of the use of IDH inhibitors for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treatment. Dr Stone covers the successful trial and subsequent approval of enasidenib for IDH2-mutated advanced AML, as well as the highly anticipated results of a trial investigating ivosidenib monotherapy for IDH1-mutated AML that were presented at the meeting (NCT02074839).…

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Researchers and clinicians now recognize that AML comprises a multitude of subtypes. In this interview, Richard Stone, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, discusses our current understanding of the biology of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). In particular, Dr Stone covers the mechanisms of action the disease subverts when FLT3 or IDH is mutated, and how we can target this heterogeneity. This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA.

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In this interview, Richard Stone, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, gives his forecast of the acute myeloid leukemia (AML) data to look forward to in 2018 and beyond. Dr Stone highlights key data due to be release in 2018 for the trials of the second-generation FLT3 inhibitors quizartinib and gilteritinib vs. standard chemotherapy in advanced FLT3-mutated AML. He also anticipates the results of several significant venetoclax trials for AML. Furthermore, he discusses the immunotherapies to look out for, including antibody-drug conjugates, BiTES and DARTs. This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual…

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In this interview, Richard Stone, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, provides an overview of the Phase III RATIFY study (NCT00651261) of daunorubicin, cytarabine and midostaurin for the treatment of newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Dr Stone highlights the implications of this regimen for the treatment of FLT3-mutated AML. This video was recorded at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2017 Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, GA.

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Personal digital disease tracking enables patients and the multidisciplinary team managing their care to better monitor their disease. Speaking from the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) 20th Annual Symposium 2017 in Glasgow, UK, Nina Paton from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK discusses how uMotif, a symptom-tracking app, works and the benefits that this can have for patient care.

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Digital technologies can aid both patients and clinicians in managing a disease. Here, Nina Paton from The Christie NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK discusses the exciting results of a pilot study of a colorectal cancer symptom-tracking app, uMotif, that was run at the center as part of the Cancer Vanguard Medicines Optimisation programme. Following this success, Ms Paton describes plans for further investigation of the app. This video was recorded at the British Oncology Pharmacy Association (BOPA) 20th Annual Symposium 2017 in Glasgow, UK.

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