Author: Editor

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Robin Foà (Sapienza University, Rome, Italy) discusses how understanding disease biology leads to targeted therapies in different types of leukaemia, including acute myeloid leukemia (AML), chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Rafael Fonseca (Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ) discusses multiple myeloma and amyloidosis. In multiple myeloma, minimum residual disease (MRD) testing is receiving great interest in the evaluation of treatment and as a prognostic marker. In amyloidosis, proteasome inhibition is emerging as an important novel therapy.

Read More

Prof Christian Gisselbrecht (St. Louis Hospital, Paris, France) discusses results of recent clinical studies in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) presented at the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, including brentuximab vedotin in combination with other agents, positron emission tomography (PET) for tailored treatment and PD-1 immune checkpoint inhibitors.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Bertrand Coiffier (Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Pierre-Benite, France) discusses the first interim analysis of the phase III prospective Lyma study of rituximab maintenance versus wait and watch after four courses of rituximab, dexamethasone, cytarabine and cisplatin (R-DHAP) followed by autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) in previously untreated young patients (under 66 years old) with mantle cell lymphoma.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Christian Gisselbrecht (St. Louis Hospital, Paris, France) discusses the molecular approach in managing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). The molecularly defined DLBCL subtypes, germinal centre B-cell-like (GCB)-DLBCL and activated B-cell-like (ABC)-DLBCL, have important clinical implications.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Ian Flinn (Sarah Cannon Cancer Institute, Nashville, TN) discusses the selective oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) delta isoform (P110?), idelalisib, in the management of haematological malignancies, including lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Idelalisib is considered in combination with other therapies to enhance efficacy endpoints.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Bertrand Coiffier (Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, Pierre-Benite, France) discusses the final analysis of the RO-CHOP phase Ib/II study of the histone deacetylase inhibitor, romidepsin, in association with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin hydrochloride, vincristine sulfate and prednisone (CHOP) in previously untreated patients with peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Anton Hagenbeek (Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands) discusses the investigational approaches of brentuximab vedotin, an anti-CD30 antibody conjugated to a cytostatic microtubule-disrupting agent, in the treatment of previously untreated and refractory/relapse patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Read More

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress, Dr Susan Galbraith (Vice-President Oncology, AstraZeneca) discusses the National Lung Matrix trial, which is a collaboration between Cancer Research UK, AstraZeneca and Pfizer. This approach aims to improve the interaction between academia and industry, thereby facilitating the development of molecularly defined treatments in lung cancer.

Read More

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress, Dr Susan Galbraith (Vice-President Oncology, AstraZeneca) discusses the ongoing phase I/II AURA study of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) inhibitor, AZD9291, in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and disease progression while on a previous continuous treatment with an EGFR inhibitor.

Read More

At the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2014 Congress, Dr Rachel Humphrey (Senior Vice President, Head of Immuno-Oncology, AstraZeneca) discusses the anti-programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) monoclonal antibody, MEDI4736, which is being evaluated in phase I/II studies in patients with various advanced solid tumour types. The combination of MEDI4736 with the anti-cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTL-4) monoclonal antibody, tremelimumab, is being studied in patients with non-small cell lung cancer.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Ola Landgren (Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) debates the requirement of intense treatment in relapsed multiple myeloma. Dr Landgren refers to results of the phase III ASPIRE study of carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone in relapsed multiple myeloma. Although patient outcomes have improved with these new and milder treatments, there is a need to understand patient subgroups that do not response to these treatments.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Philippe Moreau (University Hospital of Nantes, France) discusses novel agents in the management of multiple myeloma. An open-label, multicentre, phase Ib study of the human anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, daratumumab, in combination with backbone regimens in multiple myeloma, including bortezomib-dexamethasone, bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone, bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone and pomalidomide-dexamethasone, is ongoing. The phase III ASPIRE study showed that addition of carfilzomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone versus lenalidomide and dexamethasone in relapsed multiple myeloma resulted in a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Ola Landgren (Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY) discusses the final results from the NCI phase II pilot study of carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone in 12 patients with high-risk smouldering multiple myeloma. He assesses the risks and benefits of this therapeutic approach in clinical practice.

Read More

Lynn Fitzpatrick – Nurse Educator North Shore Hematology Oncology brought to you by The Community Oncology Alliance (COA) and The COA Patient Advocacy Network (CPAN)         north shore hematology oncology, the community oncology alliance (coa), coa, the coa patient advocacy network (cpan), cpan

Read More

Prof Paul Richardson (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA) summarises of results of clinical trials in the management of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma presented at the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. Investigational agents discussed include: proteasome inhibitor, carfilzomib; anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, daratumumab: anti-SLAMF7 monoclonal antibody, elotuzumab; histone deacetylase (HDAC) inhibitor, panobinostat; HDAC6 inhibitor, ricolinostat; immunomodulatory agent, pomalidomide.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Maria-Victoria Mateos discusses an open-label, multicentre, phase Ib study of the safety, tolerability and dose regimen of the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, daratumumab, in combination with backbone regimens in patients with multiple myeloma. Backbone regimens include bortezomib-dexamethasone, bortezomib-thalidomide-dexamethasone, bortezomib-melphalan-prednisone and pomalidomide-dexamethasone.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Jeffery Matous ((Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, Denver, CO) discusses the randomised, open-label, multicentre phase III ASPIRE study of carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone versus lenalidomide and dexamethasone in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Jeffery Matous (Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, Denver, CO) discusses combination approaches and novel monoclonal antibodies in multiple myeloma. The phase I MM-008 study is assessing the pharmacokinetics and safety of pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and renal impairment.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Jeffery Matous (Colorado Blood Cancer Institute, Denver, CO) discusses results of recent clinical studies of brentuximab vedotin (BV) in Hodgkin lymphoma (HL). The phase III AETHERA trial is a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of BV in the treatment of patients at risk of progression following autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) for HL. A single-arm, two-stage, open-label, phase I/II study is evaluating the safety and efficacy of BV in combination with bendamustine for the treatment of HL in first relapse or refractory patients, prior to ASCT.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Prof Gareth Morgan (University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR; The Institute of Cancer Research, London, UK) discusses high-throughput genetic profiling with an all-molecular diagnostic test for recurrent structural aberrations in multiple myeloma. It is hoped this approach will enable molecular risk-stratified clinical trial design and risk-adapted precision medicine for high-risk patients.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Jean-Jacques Kiladjian (Hôpital Saint-Louis & Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France) discusses a post-hoc analysis of the phase III RESPONSE trial, which compared ruxolitinib and best available therapy in patients with polycythaemia vera and splenomegaly who were intolerant of or resistant to hydroxyurea, to determine if treatment outcomes were influenced by baseline spleen volume.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Barbara Eichhorst (University Hospital, Cologne, Germany) discusses the BCL-2 inhibitor, ABT-199, which has shown high efficacy as monotherapy in high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) patients. Dose-scheduling modifications address the risk of tumour lysis syndrome. Prospective trials will evaluate ABT-199 in a wider range of CLL patients.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Jean-Jacques Kiladjian (Hôpital Saint-Louis & Université Paris Diderot, Paris, France) discusses using a next-generation sequencing approach to assess the mutational patterns of prognostically-relevant mutations (previously identified in myeloproliferative neoplasms) in calreticulin gene-mutated essential thrombocythaemia (ET) patients during interferon alpha (IFN-?) therapy.

Read More

At the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting, Dr Barbara Eichhorst (University Hospital, Cologne, Germany) discusses the final analysis of the international, randomised, phase III CLL10 study. Frontline chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) has superior efficacy (higher complete response rates, more minimal residual disease [MRD] negativity, longer progression-free survival) versus bendamustine and rituximab in previously untreated and physically fit patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Read More

At the Thirteenth International Kidney Cancer Symposium, Dr Sumanta Pal (City of Hope Comprehensive Cancer Center, CA) discusses papillary renal cell carcinoma (pRCC) and a phase 2 clinical trial on the MET inhibitor, volitinib, in patients with pRCC. Although pRCC comprises 1015% of renal cell carcinoma, current understanding and management of this disease is relatively limited. Inappropriate MET activation in cancer cells may be important in pRCC progression. Volitinib is a novel, selective and potent MET inhibitor. Preliminary clinical trials on volitinib in pRCC are promising. This new phase 2 trial aims to further evaluate the efficacy and safety of…

Read More