Author: Editor

Haifa Kathrin Al-Ali, MD from University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany discusses Momelotinib at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Momelotinib is a JAK 1 and JAK 2 inhibitor and even though only data from the Phase I and Phase II trial is available, there has been positive results similar to ruxolitinib. Momelotinib has shown to have an essentially positive impact with patients with anemia and transfusion dependency. This differing result to ruxolitinib is thought to be due to momelotinibs inhibition of the hepcidin production pathway in hepatocytes. However, momelotinib has a specific side-effect, peripheral neuropathy,…

Bruno Paiva, PhD from the University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain outlines his presentation on the role of minimal residual disease (MRD) in multiple myeloma, specifically its role as a prognostic factor and in the future as biomarker to aid in treatment decisions. Dr Paiva, outlines the importance of studying the biology of tumor resistant clones at the MRD level. The first reason discussed is to understand the mechanisms of ultra-chemoresistance in order to develop novel targets and therapy combinations. The second is to understand the biology and genetic features of the MRD cell. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA)…

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany outlines tumor lysis syndrome as a side-effect of venetoclax in treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Tumor lysis syndrome can be avoided if the initial dosage begins at 20mg and is doubled every week till a dosage of 400mg is reached. Certain patients have a particularly high risk of developing tumor lysis, especially those with a high lymphoma burden, high lymphocyte count or large lymph nodes (above 10cm). These patients may have to come more frequently or stay for extended periods of time in the clinic. Recorded at the…

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany outlines current clinical research in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Dr Eichhorst discusses the recruitment of patients in the CLL14 trial which is testing efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab plus venetoclax versus obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil (NCT02242942). She then continues to discuss the upcoming results from the Phase II CLL2-GiVe trial which involved an induction treatment of bendamustine followed by maintenance treatment of ibrutinib or venetoclax in combination with obinutuzumab (NCT02758665). Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany discusses the economic burden of treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). A solution Dr Eichhorst proposes is raising the price of treatment in the beginning, but ensuring that this treatment eradicates the disease. Consequently the patient does not have to pay for continuous treatment. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany discusses using venetoclax in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Venetoclax will be approved for high risk CLL patients with 17p deletions, and has received good results in studies. Furthermore it has performed well in contrast with ibrutinib or idelalisib, as complete responses (CR) and minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in relapsed/refractory CLL has been reported – even in monotherapy. Dr Eichhorst also discusses combinations with the CD20 antibody. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany discusses updates in current clinical trials being undertaken in the field of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Treatment of patients with 17p deletions have shown very good response rates, with a median progression-free survival of 13 months. Dr Eichhorst also discusses the HELIOS Phase III study of ibrutinib in combination with bendamustine and rituximab in relapsed/refractory CLL (EudraCT No. 2012-000600-150). The bendamustine and rituximab plus ibrutinib arm of this study has shown continuous improvement in the response quality and minimal residual negativity (MRD). Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual…

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany discusses the treatment of elderly CLL patients. In the beginning of treatment a geriatric assessment should be undertaken as well as offering support to the patient in the form of psychologists, to help the patients through the treatment phase. Prof Eichhorst also discusses ibrutinib as a treatment option for those patients who cannot tolerate CD20 antibody or who cannot travel to a hematologist and consequently an oral drug would be beneficial. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Barbara Eichhorst, MD from University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany discussing treatment options for co-morbid chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. These individuals face frequent medical problems which have to be taken into consideration when choosing a treatment regimen. Dosage reduced treatment should be considered as an option, for example fludareabine plus cyclophosphamide plus rituximab. Another combination that has shown promising responses is bendamustine plus rituximab. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Are any immunotherapy approaches currently available to treat advanced prostate cancer patients? Andrew Schorr, Patient Power Founder and Host, leads a discussion with experts Dr. William Catalona and Dr. Russell Szmulewitz. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

Haifa Kathrin Al-Ali, MD from University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany discusses momelotinib at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Momelotinib is a JAK 1 and JAK 2 inhibitor and even though only data from the Phase I and Phase II trial is available, there has been positive results similar to ruxolitinib. Momelotinib has shown to have an essentially positive impact with patients with anemia and transfusion dependency. This differing result to ruxolitinib is thought to be due to momelotinibs inhibition of the hepcidin production pathway in hepatocytes. However, momelotinib has a specific side-effect, peripheral neuropathy,…

Robin Foà, MD from the Sapienza University, Rome, Italy gives an overview of the session on ‘Biosimilars: shaping the future of Hematology’ held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prof. Foà discusses how advancements in therapy are impacting on the prognosis of various cancers and, in this context, the problems associated with an aging society. He then talks about drug costs and the issue of access to novel drugs. According to Prof. Foà, biosimilars may help reduce costs and increase access to drugs.

Klaus Okkenhaug, PhD from Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK discusses alternative options for the treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Similar to idelalisib are the SYK inhibitors which are awaiting approval. There are also BTK inhibitors, such as ibrutinib.Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mohamad Mohty, MD, PhD from Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France discusses the current progress being made in multiple myeloma (MM) research. In frontline patients eligible for transplant, practitioners should aim to deepen the response rate and target minimal residual disease (MRD) before transplant. Prof Mohty suggests that second generation proteasome inhibitors are extremely potent in this setting and will be further strengthened by the addition of a monoclonal antibody, such as daratumumab, to achieve negative MRD status. In the transplant setting, current research is showing the importance of maintenance therapy. The meta analysis of three large randomised trials has shown an…

Jae Park, MD from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY discusses the efficacy and safety of the CD19 targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells in relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) adult patients. CAR T-cells are the patient’s own T-cells which have been genetically engineered to express a chimeric antigen receptors that’s engineered to target a specific tumour antigens, in this case CD19. A phase I clinical trial has been conducted on 51 subjects, and has had positive results. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mark Levis, MD, PhD from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD discusses treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Although there is still little understanding of the pathogenesis of AML, practitioners do know to target CD19 – a B-cell specific surface protein. Two targeted therapies are currently available in AML therapy, inotuzumab and blinatumomab. Inotuzumab is very indiscriminate while contrastingly blinatumomab, a bi-specific T-cell engager (BiTEs), is very specific. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA outlines his work at the University of Pennsylvania. Currently his team is investigating the characteristics of T-cells and how they work in treatment, with the hope of answering such questions: Can we predict patients who are going to do well? Can we understand what the requirements are for the collected T-cells? Can we extend this to areas outside of leukemia? Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Stephan Grupp, MD, PhD from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA discusses his research into pediatric acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL). In a relapsed or refractory setting 93% of the patients entered complete remission (CR) when treated with CTL019, a chimeric antigen receptor T cell (CART). Furthermore, many of these patients were able to stay in remission. Dr Grupp also discussed toxicity associated with these engineered T-cell, specifically cytokine release syndrome. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Robin Foà, MD from the Sapienza University, Rome, Italy discusses the advances in the diagnostics and treatment of acute lymphocblastic leukemia (ALL) at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prof. Foà first talks about changes in diagnostics and how biological stratification is becoming more sophisticated. For example, patients should be tested for Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) ALL at presentation and if tested positive, should receive a different therapy with tyrosine kinase inhibitors targeting the specific abnormality. Further, the monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD) is now guding treatment in clinical trials, which determines decisions such as…

Mark Levis, MD, PhD from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD discusses a common question that acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients ask on their first visit, how did I get this?. Today there is a much better understanding of AML and often its cause cannot be pinpointed to a patients actions but rather is caused by the natural increase of mutations with age. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Robin Foà, MD from the Sapienza University, Rome, Italy discusses the question of how the trials on biosimilars should be run and what needs to be done for biosimilars to get approved. According to Prof. Foà, this is a difficult question and he points out that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has stated that extrapolation is acceptable. He talks about the importance of demonstrating the safety and efficacy of biosimilars and discusses when extrapolation may be acceptable. Prof. Foà further argues that it is unrealistic to repeat all trials. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in…

Klaus Okkenhaug, PhD from Babraham Institute, Cambridge, UK discusses the importance of PI3 kinase, specifically the delta isoform in chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL) and indolent non hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). PI3 kinase delta is selectively expressed in immune cells and is particularly involved in the activation and differentiation of B-cells. It is a target for the drug idelalisib, and works by interfering in the B-cell receptor signalling pathway or signaling downstream of chemokine receptors. However, patients treated with idelalisib have shown adverse effects, commonly colitis. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Robin Foà, MD from the Sapienza University, Rome, Italy discusses whether biosimilars may help increase the access to novel drugs. Prof. Foà points out that the saving might be around 30% of the original drug cost, which means that biosimilars would not necessarily make novel drugs accessible everywhere. Biosimilars are a step forward but they will not solve the problem according to Prof. Foà. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Mark Levis, MD, PhD from The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD spoke on the lack of evolution in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Levis noted that there has not been any major new advances in 40 years. However this may be changing as a Dr Levis then continued on to discuss the RATIFY Phase III trial which Daunorubicin, Cytarabine, and Midostaurin in treating AML patients (NCT006512610).

Peter Hillmen, MD, PhD from St. James’ University Hospital, Leeds, UK discusses the debate ‘Can we cure CLL today?’ held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. According to Prof Hillmen, the key question is how to define cure. He also discusses minimal residual disease (MRD) and the difference between measurable and unmeasurbale MRD. Prof Hillmen argues that it is unlikely that many or any patients are being cured at the moment even though some patients may never relapse.

Andrew Davies, MRCP, PhD from University of Southampton, Southampton, UK describes the role and actions of the precision medicine for aggressive lymphoma (PMAL) consortium. Designed to be a collaboration between academia and industry, aims include optimising diagnostic and stratification of patients with diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL). PMAL includes a network of individuals looking at transcriptome technology for use in DLBCL, optimizing signatures, identifying endotypes and mutation screening, among many other areas. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Michael Hallek, MD from the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany gives an overview of the International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iwCLL) meeting, wich will be held in New York City on May 12-15, 2017. According to Prof. Hallek, combinations of new agents will be a hot topic and there will be a debate about prognostic factors in the era of novel agents. For example, the new prognostic score called CLL-IPI will be discussed in the context of novel drugs. Another topic will be the pathogenesis of CLL and how an understanding of the different pathways will provide novel targets.…

Press brief by Christine Chomienne, MD, PhD of the Paris Diderot University, Paris, France, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Ernest Turro, PhD of the NHS Blood and Transplant, Cambridge, UK, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Nina Toft, MD, PhD of the Rigshospitalet and Herlev Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Mette Hazenberg, MD, PhD of the Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Amir Fathi, MD of the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, on SGN-CD33A combined with hypomethylating therapy, which produces high remission rates among older patients with AML at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Federica Melazzini, MD of the University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Jeffrey Jones, MD, MPH of the The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, on a cross-study analysis of treatment outcomes of 243 patients with 17p del CLL treated with ibrutinib at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

EHA 2016: Press brief by Anas Younes, MD of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Daniel Goldstein, MD of the Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Tuya Pal, MD of the Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Ronald Chen, MD, MPH of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Chapel Hill, NC, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Fabrice Denis, MD, PhD of the Jean Bernard Center, Le Mans, France, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Charles Rudin, MD, PhD of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Salah-Eddin Al-Batran, MD of the Krankenhaus Nordwest-University Cancer Center, Frankfurt, Germany, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Arjun Vasant Balar, MD of the NYU Langone Medical Center, New York, NY, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by Nikhil Wagle, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Press brief by John Hainsworth, MD of the Sarah Cannon Research Institute, Nashville, TN, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), held in Chicago, IL.

Ramaswamy Govindan, MD of Washington University Medical School describes the importance to biopsy a growing lesion in lung cancer

Evan Yu, MD of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance notes that some patients saw dramatic improvement in IMvigor210 trial

Petros Grivas, MD of Cleveland Clinic asked the question Are safety and adverse event profile appears similar between early trials in both Anti PD-1 and Anti PD-L1

Ramaswamy Govindan, MD of Washington University Medical School updates research on Small Cell Lung Cancer agents at ASCO 2016

Fadi Braiteh, MD Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada discusses Previous cytotoxin patients thought they were on placebo during atezolizumab trial due to low toxicity side effects

Evan Yu, MD of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance discusses IMvigor210 response rate durability of response and stable disease

Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialists gives an overview of the POPLAR trial endpoints median duration of response overall survival and the impact of PD-L1 expression

Nathan Pennell, MD of Cleveland Clinic discusses Second line treatment of NSCLC patients before immuno-oncology

Dr. Petros Grivas, MD of Cleveland Clinic mentions that all comers are eligible in second line Atezolizumab

Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan, MD from Washington University Medical School gives an update at ASCO 2016 on MET in NSCLC

Andrew Davies, MRCP, PhD from University of Southampton, Southampton, UK discusses diffuse large B-Cell lymphoma (DLBCL). A study conducted in Denmark looked at patients who had received complete remission (CR) or complete remission unconfirmed (CRU) compared with a matched population. It was shown that patients under 50 had the same overall survival (OS) as the normal population. In patients over 50 there is still gap between DLBCL patients and the normal populations OS. Dr Davies further discusses a randomized Phase III trial examining the effect of early intensification of rituximab (ISRCTN82286322). The results showed that increasing rituximab dose during the…

Press brief by Laura Franco, MD of the University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Rafael Fonseca, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ talks about why doctors should use social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter. According to Prof Fonesca, Twitter is a rich source of information and patients as well as many physicians use it. He also shares some tips such as remembering that Twitter is a public space.

Andrew Davies, MRCP, PhD from University of Southampton, Southampton, UK discusses the pooled analysis of NCT01236391, NCT01599949 and NCT01646021 trials which all analysed at the outcome of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients treated with ibrutinib. Overall, there were 370 patients with a complete remission (CR) of 20% and an overall response rate (ORR) of 66%. In patients who achieved CR over 90% were still alive after 2 years. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Klaus Metzeler, MD of the Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munich, Germany, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Andrew Davies, MRCP, PhD from University of Southampton, Southampton, UK gives an overview of the subjects discussed during the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Subjects include PI 3-Kinase and BTK inhibition, as well as looking into high risk features of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and non-hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). Dr Davies also discusses how practitioners are moving away from clinical parameters such as the follicular lymphoma international prognostic index (FLIPI), and now identifying high-risk patients using a M7-FLIPI. This is a combination of FLIPI performance status and the mutation status of 7 genes, which is a…

Press brief by Max Topp, MD of the University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Andrew Davies, MRCP, PhD from University of Southampton, Southampton, UK stresses the importance of educating patients about adverse effects of therapy. For example diarrhea and colitis can occur long after treatment, a median of 8 months according to Dr Davies. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Meletios Dimopoulos, MD of the University of Athens, Athens, Greece, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

” Andrew Davies, MRCP, PhD from University of Southampton, Southampton, UK discusses his participation in the joint symposia regarding high risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and follicular lymphoma, and the use of idelalisib in treatment. Dr Davies outlines his participation in a phase II trial to assess the efficacy and safety of idelalisib in subjects with indolent B-Cell non-hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) refractory to alkylating agents and to rituximab (NCT01282424) Results showed an overall response rate of 56%, and a median progression free survival of over 11 months. According to Dr Davies idelalisib gives a clear option for patients whose disease…

Press brief by Andreas Engert, MD of the University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Press brief by Tony Green, MD, PhD of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research, Cambridge, UK, at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the European Association of Hematology (EHA), held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Giuseppe Saglio, MD of the University of Turin, Turin, Italy provides an overview of the results of the Phase III trial of DASISION in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) and the future of CML treatment (NCT00481247). In the DASISION trial, patients were randomized to receive either dasatinib or imatinib therapy. The findings were in favor of dasatinib therapy, which resulted in deeper and faster achievement of molecular response and further, it was well tolerated. There was a problem with the occurrence in some cases of pleural effusions. When this occurred the treatment was restarted or dosage was reduced. Prof…

In this Ask the Expert segment, Terry is concerned about his mothers treatment and side effects. He wants to know if a reduction of the dose of Revlimid and dexamethasone will make the treatment less effective. MPN expert Dr. Jatin Shah, a myeloma expert from MD Anderson Cancer Center, responds with a discussion of the balance between managing side effects and dosage as well as various causes of GI upsets. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

Evan Yu, MD of Seattle Cancer Care notes that some patients saw dramatic improvement in IMvigor210 trial

From our MPN Ask the Expert series, Patient Power viewer, Jane, asks a question about using iron supplements for MPN patients who are anemic due to iron deficiency. MPN expert Dr. John Mascarenhas of Mount Sinai School of Medicine responds with a two-part answer: one for polycythemia vera (PV) patients and another for myelofibrosis (MF) patients. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

In this Ask the Expert segment, Terry is concerned about his mothers treatment and side effects. He wants to know if a reduction of the dose of Revlimid and dexamethasone will make the treatment less effective. MPN expert Dr. Jatin Shah, a myeloma expert from MD Anderson Cancer Center, responds with a discussion of the balance between managing side effects and dosage as well as various causes of GI upsets. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

POPLAR trial success leads to larger OAK study

Autoimmune can be delayed in immunotherapy

Alexander Spira, MD of the Cleveland Clinic discusses the results of Phase II POPLAR trial evaluating Atezolizumab in advanced NSCLC

Nathan Pennell, MD of Cleveland Clinic discusses his experience with Nivolumab and Pembrolizumab in the second line therapy of your NSCLC patients

Omid Hamid, MD of the Angeles Clinic discusses the phase III NEMO trial and the novel MEK inhibitor Binimetinib

Petros Grivas, MD of Cleveland Clinic discusses the efficacy of Atezolizumab within cohort 2 of IMvigor210

Arjun V. Balar, MD of NYU Langone Medical Center discusses the percentage of patient with urothelial cancer that are cisplatin ineligible

Dr. Fadi Braiteh, MD of Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada describers the differences in Squamous Cell Carcinomas versus the Non-Squamous Cancers when using Atezolizumab

Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan, MD of the Washington University Medical School gives an update on BRAF in NSCLC from ASCO 2016

Dr. Heather Wakelee, MD of the Stanford School of Medicine outlines the best way to test newly diagnosed NSCLC in the community setting

Jeffrey Jones, MD, MPH from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH discussing the characteristics and mode of action of Ibrutinib. Ibrutinib targets the B-cell receptor signalling pathway, specifically inhibiting the Brutons tyrosine kinase (BTK). BTK is mutated in patients with X-linked agammaglobulinemia and consequently born without mature B-cells. From this knowledge it was hypothesised that pharmacological inhibition of BTK could eradicate abnormally functioning B-cells, and so ibrutinib was developed. Ibrutinib is orally bioavailable and only needs to be taken once a day, with a lasting effect of 24 hours. According to Dr Jones most patients see improvement in symptoms soon…

Jeffrey Jones, MD, MPH from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH discusses the current thought on treating relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This is an area where one can see a tremendous revolution in CLL treatment. Treatment has moved from once being mostly chemotherapy to more specifically targeting the abnormal biology of CLL. In order to do this there needs to be a fundamental understand of CLL, specifically what drives CLL growth and survival. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark

Mohamad Mohty, MD, PhD from Saint-Antoine Hospital, Paris, France discussing treatment options for relapsed and refractory myeloma at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Due it is current high prevalence in the research field the physician’s role is becoming harder as there is a wider choice of therapies. When choosing these therapies practitioners need to consider age, comorbidities, prior history, bone-marrow reserves, organ dysfunction, as well as disease features and manifestations. When putting these components together management and sequence of treatments becomes complex, however Prof Mohty is confident that on a case by case basis…

Giuseppe Saglio, MD from University of Turin, Turin, Italy discusses the influence of TKI therapy on the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Over the past few years it has been shown that patients can achieve a status called operational cure, where it is possible for them to stop therapy- however the number of patients holding this status is low. Dr Saglio holds hope that in the future this number will rise and mentions the potential of using a stronger TK inhibitor to increase the number of patients holding an operational cure. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016…

Antonio Palumbo, MD from the University of Turin, Turin, Italy talks about when daratumumab will be available in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone or lenalidomide and dexamethasone. Daratumumab is approved as a single agent by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and European Medicines Agency (EMA). According to Dr Palumbo, the submission for the three agent submission will be started and it should be available within 12-18 months. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Haifa Kathrin Al-Ali, MD from University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany discusses research into JAK inhibitors specifically Ruxolitinib, Pacritinib, and Momelotinib. Ruxolitinb demonstrated positive results in the COMFORT-II trials (NCT00934544), reducing splenomegaly and symptom improvement. Similar results were also seen with pacritinib. There is still no to data on momelotinib from the most recent clinical Phase III trial. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Antonio Palumbo, MD from the University of Turin, Turin, Italy discusses the place of daratumumab in the current treatment landscape of multiple myeloma (MM). According to Dr Palumbo, daratumumab will change the treatment paradigm and will be combined to bortezomib and dexamethasone or lenalidomide and dexamethasone. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Niels van de Donk, MD, PhD from the University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands discusses three trials of daratumumab in multiple myeloma (MM). First, Dr van de Donk outlines the results of the Phase III POLLUX trial of daratumumab combined with lenalidomide and dexamethasone (DRd) vs lenalidomide and dexamethasone (Rd) (NCT02076009). The trial was perfomed in the relapsed/refractory setting. There was an increase in response rate, complete response rate and further progression-free survival (PFS) was improved in the DRd vs the Rd arm. According to Dr van de Donk, this is the best triplet combination tested so far. He also discusses…

Haifa Kathrin Al-Ali, MD from University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany discusses janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. There is only one drug approved, at present, for the treatment of polycythemia vera (PV) and myelofibrosis (MF) – ruxolitinib a JAK 1/JAK 2 inhibitor. Prof Kathrin also discusses pacritinib a JAK 1 inhibitor and momelotinib a JAK 1 and JAK 2 inhibitor. Fedratinib is a JAK 2 inhibitor however developed has been halted due to safety concerns as some patients have developed Wernicke’s encephalopathy.

Josep-Maria Ribera, MD, PhD from Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain outlines the importance of blinatumomab and inotuzumab ozogamicin in treating acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Both blinatumomab and inotuzumab ozogamicin are very effective in a relapsed refractory settings. Dr Ribera believes that these agents are best used earlier in the disease, specifically in first remission, when there is still minimal residual disease (MRD) to be eliminated. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Shaji Kumar, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN discusses the current research on immunotherapy in multiple myeloma (MM). The biggest advance so far is daratumumab according to Dr Kumar. Daratumumab is a monoclonal antibody targeting CD38 and its has been to shown to have high efficacy as single agent and in combination with lenalidomide and bortezomib. Elotuzumab, which targets SLAMF7, has also been shown to be active in combination with bortezomib and pomalidomide. Dr Kumar further discusses CAR T-cell therapy, which is in early clinical development and has shown efficacy in leukemia with some reports that it might also…

Josep-Maria Ribera, MD, PhD from Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain outlines his talk on minimal residual disease (MRD) and how MRD is assessed by different European groups treating adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The talk confirmed the crucial role of MRD and highlighted the importance of standardization of MRD methods. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Antonio Palumbo, MD from the University of Turin, Turin, Italy gives an overview of the results of the Phase III CASTOR trial of daratumumab with bortezomib and dexamethasone (NCT02136134). This combination reduces the risk of progression by 60% compared to the current standard of care according to Dr Palumbo. Daratumumab is a novel monoclonal antibody, which targets a specific tumor antigen for myeloma plasma cells (CD38), which leads to an increase of the response rate with a doubling of the rate of complete remission (CR) and very good partial response (VGPR). Further, five times as many patients achieve minimal residual…

Josep-Maria Ribera, MD, PhD from Germans Trias i Pujol University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain outlines the clinical practice of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Although treatments are individualised due to the number and complexity of the diseases, there are several principles which are followed worldwide. These include the notion that chemotherapy is provided first, that adults should be considered for transplant and the minimal residual disease (MRD) is of high importance. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Shaji Kumar, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN discusses venetoclax and the future of treatment of multiple myeloma (MM). Venetoclax is an inhibitor of BCL-2, which is generally highly expressed on multiple myeloma cells. According to Dr Kumar, pre-clinical studies show that venetoclax is active against myeloma cells and he further discusses the results of the Phase I trial of venetoclax as a single agent (NCT01794520) and the Phase I trial of venetoclax with bortezomib and dexamethasone (NCT01794507). Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Simon Rule, MD from Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK discusses current mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) news, including the novel results from clinical trials using ibrutinib and front-line allogeneic transplant. Allogeneic transplant is often not the first-line of treatment due to its toxicity. Instead, treatment for younger patients involves chemotherapy then an autologous stem cell transplant, however patients often still relapse. Prof Rule discusses his clinical trial (NCT00720447) of 25 patients undergoing an allogeneic transplant with a transplant rate of mortality of 8% and progression-free survival 3 years rate of 70%. This suggests that there may be a potential application for patients…

Valeria Santini, MD from University of Florence, Florence, Italy outlines the mode of action of hypomethylating agents – azacitidine and decitabine – in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Hypomethylating agents were derived by cytidine analogues and originally synthesized to be similar to ara-C. However it was found that these agents acted through hypomethylating DNA. This is demonstrated when looking at patients DNA who have been given azacidine, it is possible to see a decrease in methylation after single-treatment. Recent research according to Dr Santini has shown that methylation occurs throughout the DNA and not just at the promoter. Therefore…

Michael Hallek, MD from the University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany discusses the debate around whether chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is curable. Prof Hallek argues that it is possible to cure CLL patients and points out that allogeneic stem cell transplants cure approximately 30-40% of patients. In terms of non-transplant therapies, there is evidence that long-term remission is achievable. Some patients who have received FCR (fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, rituximab) remain in remission after many years and can be categorized according to their IGHV mutation status, whereby IGHV-mutated patients have a good prognosis. Within the group of IGHV-mutated patients, patients with trisomy 12,…

Marek Trneny, MD, PhD from Charles University General Hospital, Prague, Czech Republic gives an overview of his talk on the unmet need for follicular lymphoma for a subgroup of patients resistant to immunotherapy. The outcome for these patients is poor with a median progression-free survival (PFS) between 6-10 months. Prof Trneny then discusses the results of the Phase III GADOLIN trial (NCT01059630), which looked at the whole spectrum of indolent lymphoma and in particular, patients resistant to ritxuimab. Patients were randomly assigned to the standard treatment of bendamustine or to an experimental arm of bendamustine plus obinutuzumab. According to Prof…

Katja Weisel, MD from University Hospital Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany discusses the slowly progressing myeloma and outlines how there are clear benefits to receiving lenalidomide and dexamethasone based backbone therapy for patients who have not had success with a proteasome inhibitor based first line of treatment. Patients receiving this treatment show a sustained and durable responses with a progression-free survival of 15-19 months. Dr Weisel continues to discuss the potential of combining lenalidomide and dexamethasone with a combination treatment. For instance carfilzomib, lenalidomide and dexamethasone combinations (NCT01080391). Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Valeria Santini, MD from University of Florence, Florence, Italy discusses the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In Europe azacitidine is prescribed and is proving to be effective in prolonging survival, despite the fact that 50% of MDS patients do not respond to the drug. However these patients who show positive results with azacitidine lose this response after 6-26 months. Practitioners are now facing the issue of attending to patients who again need treatment, and consequently need to delay the progression to acute leukemia. New agents are being added to azacitidine in the hopes of increasing the duration of its efficacy,…

Simon Rule, MD from Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK outlines his presentation on his work with ibrutinib. Prof Rule discusses the outcome of a compilation of three trials involving the single-agent ibrutinib in 307 patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma. In these trials the response by baseline criteria, characteristics, progression free-survival (PFS) and complete survival were analyzed. It was known previously that ibrutinib has a 70% response rate, consequently instead these trials concentrated on progression-free survival and complete survival. Results showed that if ibrutinib is used at first relapse the results are hugely more significant in comparison to use in second…

Anna Schuh, MD, PhD, from the University of Oxford, discusses the importance of genomic analysis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the clinic. According to Dr Schuh, the mutation analysis of TP53 in addition to a FISH analysis are important. She further discusses which other markers will become relevant in the future, which includes looking for subclonal TP53 mutations with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and whole genome sequencing. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH), held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Charles Craddock, CBE, FRCP, FRCPath, DPhil, from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK provides an overview of his talk on allogeneic stem cell transplantation in eldery patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) held at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH) in Glasgow, Scotland. According to Prof Craddock, the focus was on the recent finding that reduced intensity transplants improve overall survival (OS) and the importance of patient co-morbidities. A substantial number of patients over the age 60 are at risk of relapse if they are treated with chemotherapy alone, according…

Gail Roboz, MD from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY outlines the limited progress in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) research over the past decades. Standard care is still conventional chemotherapy or lower-intensity therapy generally with a lower dose cytarabine regimens. Practitioners can look at molecular genetics however its application has yet to have a positive influence on the treatment of older AML patients, according to Dr Roboz. Nonetheless, she says there is light on the horizon in the form of improvements to standard care as well as novel agents. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the…

Charles Craddock, CBE, FRCP, FRCPath, DPhil, from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK discusses when a transplant is the most suitable option in elderly acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients and what alternatives are open to these patients. Prof Craddock first explains how one can determine the quality of remission using minimal residual disease (MRD) testing, cytogenetic and molecular analysis. He then further explains how patients with a predicted risk of relapse higher than 40% will benefit from an allograft, as well as how co-morbidities scores should be considered when determining whether an allograft is suitable. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting…

Charles Craddock, CBE, FRCP, FRCPath, DPhil, from Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham, UK explains how epigenetic drugs may have a capacity to modulate the immune system post-transplant in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). By demethylating the FOXP3 promoter it may be able to accelerate Treg reconstitution post-allograft and thereby potentially suppressing graft versus host disease. Prof Craddock also discusses the clinical trial RICAZA (ISRCTN36825171) in which 40 patients post-transplant azacidine was well-tolerated. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH), held in Glasgow, Scotland

Anna Schuh, MD, PhD, from the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, gives an overview of the CLL pilot run by Genomics England to test the robustness of the sample pathway for liquid cancers. Dr Schuh outlines the project, which has recruited over 300 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients from clinical trials. The aim is to identify new predictors of response to treatment, understanding the significance of non-coding regions and changes in the germline that might be important for drug metabolism. She further explains how more patients need to be recruited in order to draw conclusions from the data. Recorded at…

Dr. Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialists goes over the risk and benefit to blocking PD-L2

Dr. Robert Dreicer, MD of the University of Virginia highlights small molecule inhibitor trials within urothelial cancer

Dr. Arjun V. Balar, MD of NYU Langone Medical Center discusses using deficient mismatch repair in PD-L1 therapy for urothelial cancer

Dr. Evan Yu, MD of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance notes that some patient populations may respond better to atezolizumab and other checkpoint inhibitors

Dr. Omid Hamid, MD of The Angeles Clinic discusses new predictive markers in immunotherapy for melanoma

Dr. Petros Grivas, MD of Cleveland Clinic outlines how the higher levels of PD-L1 expression correlates with higher response rates

Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan, MD of Washington University Medical School gives an update on ALK+ lung cancer agents at ASCO 2016

Dr. Fadi Braiteh, MD of Comprehensive Cancer Centers of Nevada notes that autoimmune can be delayed in immunotherapy

Dr. Nathan Pennell, MD of Cleveland Clinic describes the safety and efficacy differences between PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors

Dr. Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialists discusses the durable response of atezolizumab

Anna Schuh, MD, PhD, from the University of Oxford, discusses the importance of genomic analysis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the clinic. According to Dr Schuh, the mutation analysis of TP53 in addition to a FISH analysis are important. She further discusses which other markers will become relevant in the future, which includes looking for subclonal TP53 mutations with next-generation sequencing (NGS) and whole genome sequencing. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH), held in Glasgow, Scotland.

Gail Roboz, MD from Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, NY discusses the availability of commercially available genetic molecular testing in which approximately 200 mutations can be evaluated. However current practice is exclusively guided by FLT3, NPM1, CEBPA double mutations. Availability of clinical trials for other specific mutations, for instance IDH1 and 2 , is making molecular genetic testing for these mutations more common practice in both prognosticating and driving treatment. Dr Roboz also discusses the application of molecular genetic testing in older acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society…

George Follows, MA, BM, BCh, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath from Cambridge University Hospitals, Cambridge, UK gives an overview of the session on the evolution of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) management held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Follows outlines Dr Paolo Ghia’s presentation on how our understanding of the genetics of CLL is having an impact on clinical practice. He further discusses Prof Stephan Stilgenbauer’s talk on new first-line data and how practice is moving away from chemotherapy and potentially towards a chemo-free era. Dr Follows also talks about the potential of ibrutinib, which…

Anas Younes, MD from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY discusses the cost of new drugs in lymphoma. Prof Younes argues that the impact of these drugs on the lives of young patients outweighs concerns around their cost. Recorded at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting, in Chicago, IL.

Dr. Heather Wakelee, MD of Stanford School of Medicine outlines the best way to test newly diagnosed NSCLC in the community setting

Petros Grivas, MD discusses anti PD-1 versus anti PD-L1 in urothelial carcinoma

Dr. Omid Hamid, MD of The Angeles Clinic presents updated results of KEYNOTE-001 006 and 029 for advanced melanoma

Robert Dreicer, MD of the University of Virginia answers the question why urothelial cancer for checkpoint inhibitor therapeutics

Dr. Fadi Braiteh, MD of Comprehensive Cancer Centers discusses the POPLAR results show statistic significant improvement in overall survival

Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy discusses the research activities of the European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC), which held a General Assembly at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Ghia mentions a study that is collecting data on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients treated with bendamustine plus rituximab in second line. He also discusses the creation of a data set of CLL patients in Europe called Minimum Data Set Project, with the aim to map the number of patients in Europe.

Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy discusses the side effects of novel drugs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). According to Dr Ghia, the toxicity profile of novel drugs is better compared to immunochemotherapy but neverthless, side effects are to be expected. Therefore, the rules to start treatment remain the same, i.e. the disease has to be progressive. In order to manage patient expectations about receiving novel drugs, it is important to inform patients about these side effects as Dr Ghia explains. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy discusses drug combinations for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In particular, Dr Ghia talks about the combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax, as well as ibrutinib and venetoclax in combination with obinutuzumab (GA-101) (NCT02758665). Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Kostas Stamatopoulos, MD, PhD from CERTH Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece gives an overview of the European Research Initiative on CLL (ERIC), which held a General Assembly at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. The aim of ERIC is to promote research that will improve patient management, strengthen collaboration and disseminate good practice. One of the projects is to complete a census of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients throughout Europe. Dr Stamatopoulos also discusses the deletion of chromosome 17p or aberrant TP53 and the work ERIC has done to improve the treatment of affected…

Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy talks about venetoclax for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Venetoclax has recently been approved by the FDA to treat relapsed CLL patients with the 17p deletion. According to Dr Ghia, the drug showed great efficacy in the Phase I and II trials; it was able to achieve minimal residual (MRD) negativity in a large fraction of patients. He also discusses the risk of tumor lysis syndrome associated with venetoclax and how this has been adressed. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Noopur Raje, MD from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA gives an overview of the Phase III POLLUX trial on (NCT02076009) on combining daratumumab with lenalidomide and dexamethasone vs lenalidomide and dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. According to Dr Raje, patients who received daratumumab with lenalidomide and dexamethasone had more than a doubling in response rate; progression-free survival (PFS) and duration of response are also striking. The future is going to be drug combinations according to Dr Raje. She also highlights the CASTOR trial (NCT02136134) presented…

Kostas Stamatopoulos, MD, PhD from CERTH Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece discusses the issues associated with the rapid development of new drugs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). One key issue is affordability and access according to Dr Stamatopoulos. The other issue is linked to the high pace of development of novel drugs concerns adverse events or late events. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Gareth Morgan, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD from the UAMS Myeloma Institute, Little Rock, AR discusses the use of FISH in multiple myeloma (MM). According to Dr Morgan, it is important to consider that there are many subtypes of MM and a precision or personalized medicine approach is therefore important. The problem about FISH is that it is slow, expensive and prone to error. When compared to molecular diagnostics and next-generation sequencing (NGS), FISH therefore becomes obsolete according to Dr Morgan. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Andrew Spencer, MD, PhD from the Monash University, Melbourne, Australia discusses the side effects of panobinostat in multiple myeloma (MM). Most patients did not tolerate the initial dose 45 mg/m2 but with a dose reduction to 30 mg/m2 or 20 mg/m2, most patients tolerated the drug well for the six month duration. The main side effects were gastrointestinal (GI) related and included diarrhoea. There was no relevant myeloid suppression and fatigue was not observed. Recorded at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy talks about the stratification of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. As the biology of CLL is better understood, this allows for the better stratification of CLL patients. Dr Ghia mentions how patients can be stratified based on the presence or absence of a 17p deletion and p53 gene mutation. According to Dr Ghia, the way patients are stratified will probably remain the same in the next couple of years despite the development of new therapies. He…

Philippe Moreau, MD from the University Hospital of Nantes, Nantes, France gives an overview of his session on how monoclonal antibodies will change therapy in multiple myeloma (MM) held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. In Europe, elotuzumab is approved in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone in the relapsed setting and this combination shows progression-free survival (PFS) benefit. The most interesting monoclonal antibody in Prof Moreau’s opinion is daratumumab, which targets CD38. Daratumumab can be used in very advanced patients in Europe. Prof Moreau also outlines the results of the POLLUX and CASTOR trials…

Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD from the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy discusses minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Ghia explains that MRD is a hot topic due to the multitude of new therapies that have become available. As it is still in early stages of development, it should only be used in the context of research according to Dr Ghia.

Noopur Raje, MD from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA gives an overview of the Phase Ib/II study of ricolinostat (ACY-1215) in multiple myeloma (MM) (NCT01997840) presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. The trial looks at the combination of ricolinostat with pomalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma patients. Ricolinostat has a tendancy to be more selective for HDAC6 and according to Dr Raje, it is believed that it is has less off-target toxicity. Dr Raje further explains the rationale of combining with ricolinostat with lenalidomide and discusses data of the Phase…

Kostas Stamatopoulos, MD, PhD from CERTH Institute of Applied Biosciences, Thessaloniki, Greece discusses the progress of research in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Dr Stamatopoulos points out how novel drugs are different from traditional chemotherapy or immunotherapy as they target fundamental processes, which can translate into better response rates and in future, a cure. Recorded at the at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Gareth Morgan, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD from the UAMS Myeloma Institute, Little Rock, AR provides an overview of his talk on ‘Treatment strategies at first relapse’ held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Morgan discusses why there are many trials and data sets available looking at first relapse in myeloma and the evidence that is available for making decisions. Treatment options include revlimid and dexamethasonse, the proteasome inhibitors velcade, carfilzomib and ixazomib, as well as the monoclonal antibodies elotuzumab and daratumumab. According to Dr Morgan, the triplet combinations on a backbone of velcade…

Anna Schuh, MD, PhD, from the University of Oxford, UK, gives an overview of her talk on the advances in the molecular stratification of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The focus of the talk was to make sense of the biological and clinical heterogeneity of CLL patients. The fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) therapy is still the standard of care frontline treatment and while data shows that many patients respond very well or have even shown to be cured, around 25% of patients will relapse within the first two years of having received chemoimmunotherapy according to Dr Schuh. Molecular markers may…

Francesco Forconi, MD, PhD from the University of Southampton, Southampton, UK gives an overview of his talk on the structure and function of the B-cell receptor in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Dr Forconi also outlines why changes in the characteristics of the B-cell receptor affect the function and behavior of the tumor as well as how to target the receptor.

Andrew Spencer, MD, PhD from the Monash University, Melbourne, Australia provides an overview of his talk on epigenetics and HDAC inhibitors in multiple myeloma (MM) held at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2016 Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark. Prof Spencer talks about the methylation of DNA, translational changes in histones and the abnormalities present in myeloma. According to Prof Spencer, there is a marked abnormality in the methylone in myeloma and a number of histone deacetylase (HDACs) are overexpressed, whereby the overexpression of HDAC1 is associated with poor outcome. He further discusses the rationale behind combining HDAC inhibitors with proteasome…

As part of our coverage from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, MPN experts Dr. Srdan Verstovsek, Dr. Elias Jabbour, Dr. Brady Stein and patient advocate, Andi Malitz, gathered to discuss the latest news and research in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The experts reviewed promising results of recent studies, including telomerase inhibitors, antifibrotic treatments, the long-term benefit of the JAK inhibitor, ruxolitinib, as well as news about the promise of early intervention. Also discussed were observational studies and how these studies are providing experts with better understanding of the disease. The experts stressed the importance of balancing treatment…

As part of our coverage from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting, MPN experts Dr. Srdan Verstovsek, Dr. Elias Jabbour, Dr. Brady Stein and patient advocate, Andi Malitz, gathered to discuss the latest news and research in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs). The experts reviewed promising results of recent studies, including telomerase inhibitors, antifibrotic treatments, the long-term benefit of the JAK inhibitor, ruxolitinib, as well as news about the promise of early intervention. Also discussed were observational studies and how these studies are providing experts with better understanding of the disease. The experts stressed the importance of balancing treatment…

Expert Dr. Russell Szmulewitz of the University of Chicago Medical Center describes the endocrinology of prostate cancer and provides an overview of hormonal therapies. Dr. Szmulewitz examines the changing treatment paradigm including risks and benefits. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

Evan Yu, MD of Seattle Cancer Care Alliance goes over next steps after FDA approval for Atezelozimab

Even though there is a tremendous access to new drug therapies, doctors have yet to determine the best way to use these new therapies. The doctors conclude that some of the most exciting therapies are monoclonal antibodies, vaccines, small molecules, cellular therapies, CAR- T cell therapy, and more. IMWG Myeloma Experts debate the latest trends in treatment June 9, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark

Discussed are the new IMWG Criteria in MRD testing in multiple myeloma, which is to be published in Lancet Oncology. Attention is given as to how to use the testing going forward with patient care. IMWG Myeloma Experts debate the latest trends in treatment June 9, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark

Heather Wakelee, MD of Stanford Medicine discusses genetic heterogeneity and genomic alterations in KRAS mutated NSCLC

The doctors consider mSMART classification to look at high-, intermediate-, and standard-risk myeloma. They discuss, with the increasing depth of response in myeloma with the newer drugs, how doctors should evaluate the use of these drugs with the higher-risk disease groups. IMWG Myeloma Experts debate the latest trends in treatment June 9, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark

The third question of the series is Are you proactive regarding your patients possible comorbidities? In particular, the doctors consider patient characteristics such as age, performance status, and other health problems. They talk about when to consider stem cell transplant with frailer patients. IMWG Myeloma Experts debate the latest trends in treatment June 9, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark

The first question of the series is What is the impact of the new diagnostic criteria? The criteria to which the doctors are referring is the SLiM CRAB criteria, which expands the former CRAB criteria. IMWG Myeloma Experts debate the latest trends in treatment June 9, 2016 Copenhagen, Denmark

Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialists discusses PD-L1 expression in tumor and immune cells in the microenvironment from the POPLAR trial

Nathan Pennell, MD of Cleveland Clinic talks about the future of genotypical NSCLC immunotherapy

Dr. Omid Hamid, MD of The Angeles Clinic outlines the evidence that uveal melanoma is responsive to immunotherapy

Dr Arjun V. Balar, MD of NYU Langone Medical Center discusses how upper tract disease did better in IMVigor210 trial

At the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC), held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 9 to 11 March 2016, Oleg Gluz, MD, from the West German Study Group, Mönchengladbach, Germany, discusses the development of evidence-based gene expression profiling to better classify breast cancer subtypes for optimising therapeutic decisions in patients with breast cancer. This content is supported by Genomic Health, Inc. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

An expert panel, led by Dr. Tomasz Beer, explores research discussed at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago. The group explains updates related to biomarkers, chemotherapy and hormonal approaches. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

Is there hope for lung cancer patients with genetic alterations who have become resistant to therapies? On location at ASCO 2016, lung cancer expert Dr. Liza Villaruz announces new information that includes advances in the field of lung cancer focused on overcoming resistance to novel inhibitors. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

Does knowing your molecular mutation in earlier stage lung cancer have any significance in selecting a treatment modality? Is there any difference between external and internal factors that lead to gene mutations in lung cancer? Live from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, Drs. Liza Villaruz and Charu Aggarwal sat down with host, John Ratzenberger, for an Ask the Lung Cancer Expert discussion that covered questions submitted by lung cancer patients and their families. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow…

Does knowing your molecular mutation in earlier stage lung cancer have any significance in selecting a treatment modality? Is there any difference between external and internal factors that lead to gene mutations in lung cancer? Live from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago, Drs. Liza Villaruz and Charu Aggarwal sat down with host, John Ratzenberger, for an Ask the Lung Cancer Expert discussion that covered questions submitted by lung cancer patients and their families. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow…

An expert panel, led by Dr. Tomasz Beer, explores research discussed at the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meeting in Chicago. The group explains updates related to biomarkers, chemotherapy and hormonal approaches. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

What is the latest news on lung cancer immunotherapies? On location at ASCO 2016, lung cancer expert Dr. Charu Aggarwal of the University of Pennsylvania Hospital gives an update. Dr. Aggarwal gives a brief glimpse at the results of combination immunotherapy data, including crizotinib (Xalkori) and alectinib (Alecensa). Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

Dr. Laura Chow discusses new combination therapies and molecularly targeted therapies, specifically in head and neck cancers.

At the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC), held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 9 to 11 March 2016, Oleg Gluz, MD, from the West German Study Group, Mönchengladbach, Germany, discusses the development of evidence-based gene expression profiling to better classify breast cancer subtypes for optimising therapeutic decisions for patients with breast cancer. This content is supported by Genomic Health, Inc. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

Robert Dreicer, MD at University of Virginia Health System talks about how the Atezolizumab FDA approval will spur more studies in the future

Heather Wakelee, MD at The Stanford University Medical Center outlines the therapeutic options currently available for RET altered NSCLC from ASCO 2016

Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialists goes over the future of Next-Gen sequencing and who will respond and who will not to therapy

Nathan Pennell, MD at Cleveland Clinic discusses how to chose the most effective second line PD-1 or PD-L1 therapy in lung cancer

At the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC), held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 9 to 11 March 2016, Oleg Gluz, MD, from the West German Study Group, Mönchengladbach, Germany, discusses the development of evidence-based gene expression profiling to better classify breast cancer subtypes for optimising therapeutic decisions for patients with breast cancer. This content is supported by Genomic Health, Inc. European Medical Journal Website: http://emjreviews.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/EMJReviews Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/emjreviews

Omid Hamid, MD at The Angeles Clinic Combi-d and BRIM7 trials and the extended follow-up results

Arjun Balar, MD of NYU Langone gives an overview of IMvigor 210 cohort one data and results

Justin Stebbing, MD, MA, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD from Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, UK discusses developments in anti-PD-1 and anti-PD-L1 drugs presented at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL. Prof Stebbing discusses a study on nivolumab and ipilimumab in 220 patients with small cell lung cancer and how these drugs might change the outlook for this disease. He further discusses the presentation on the OX40 agonist MOXR0916 and the PD-L1 inhibitor atezolizumab in patients with advanced solid tumors and what this might mean for the future use of chemotherapy.

Dr. Evan Yu, MD of University of Washington School of Medicine notes that smoking does not predispose higher response rate to Atezolizumab according to the IMvigor210 data. ASCO 2016

Dr. Heather Wakelee, MD of The Stanford University Medical Center Wakelee_MET in NSCLC including its over expression increased copy number and MET exon 14 alterations

Bruce Johnson, MD, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, discusses the challenges associated with developing effective treatments for patients with solid tumors. Prof Johnson discusses the efforts that are being made in terms of defining subgroups of patients and relevant therapy approaches for common tumors such as breast cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. He also talks about how for unusual tumors, the challenge is to identify therapy targets and recruit sufficient numbers of patients for trials. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Rafael Fonseca, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ discusses the cost of drugs in multiple myeloma (MM) and the debate around the issue. According to Prof Fonesca, the costs associated with drug development have to be accounted for and a more data-driven and free market approach are needed to solve the issue of drug affordability. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.

Rafael Fonseca, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ discusses highlights in multiple myeloma (MM) at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL. Prof Fonesca mentions presentations looking at the role of stem cell transplant vs conventional therapy, a meta-analysis on the use of maintenance with lenalidomide and a presentation on a dynamic approach to monitoring patients with smouldering myeloma.

Anas Younes, MD from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY discusses the place of nivolumab and pembrolizumab in the current treatment landscape for relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma. According to Prof Younes, the approval by the FDA is very specific and requires that patients have had a failed autologous stem cell transplant and brentuximab vedotin. He further discusses how the new combinations may change the treatment landscape. Recorded at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting, in Chicago, IL.

Bruce Johnson, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA and recently elected president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), discusses the increasing cost of drugs and how he plans to address the issue as the president of ASCO. He mentions one of the abstracts presented at the ASCO 2016 Annual Meeting, in Chicago, IL, which showed that the cost of drugs can vary more than 5-fold from one country to another. Prof Johnson further discusses new developments, in particular biosimilars.

Constantine Tam, MBBS, MD from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Melbourne, Australia gives an overview of the preliminary results of the Phase II AIM study of ibrutinib and venetoclax (ABT-199) in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (NCT02471391) presented at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Dr Tam outlines how of the eight patients who have completed a four month course, five are in complete remission (CR), two patients in partial remission, and one patient did not respond. Dr Tam further discusses the promise of this drug combination and the associated toxicities.

Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialists discusses mutation load and gene profiles appear to have a significant impact on response rates and survival

Dr. Robert Dreicer, MD of the University of Virginia Health System gives an overview of PD-L1 expression on cancer cells and how they impact the endpoints and ability to respond in the IMvigor210 study

Arjun Balar, MD of New York University Langone comments on deficient mismatch repair within urothelial cancer

Dr. Evan Yu, MD of the University of Washington School of Medicine outlines the IMvigor210 trial design and patient populaiton

Dr. Heather Wakelee, MD at The Stanford University Medical Center remarks on the E1505 trial results from ASCO 2016

Alexander Spira, MD of Virginia Cancer Specialist remarks on the many different combinations of immunotherapy drugs that are being being tested due to the low toxicity of these drugs

Omid Hamid, MD Director of the Melanoma Center at The Angeles Clinic goes over the advantages and disadvantages with Binimetinib combined with Encorafenib

Dr Robert Dreicer, MD of University of Virginia Health System highlights the importance of the FDA approval of Atezolizumab at ASCO 2016

Dr. Arjun Balar, MD of NYU Langone Medical Center discusses Bevacizumab in combination with chemotherapy in metastatic urothelial cancer at ASCO 2016

William Wierda, MD, PhD from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX discusses his highlights for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) from the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL. Dr Wierda mentions the update on venetoclax in patients who have relapsed or are intolerant to ibrutinib or idelalisib, the idelalisib plus ofatumumab as well as the bendamustine plus rituximab and idelalisib randomized trials.

Bruce Johnson, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA and recently elected president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), discusses one of his goals of bringing precision medicine from the academic centers to community practices. As part of this, physicians will need to be provided with the right tools that will allow them to transform the care patients receive around the world. Recorded at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting, in Chicago, IL.

William Wierda, MD, PhD from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX discusses the safety of idelalisib for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Dr Wierda outlines the risk of infection for previously untreated patients and discusses the higher incidences of deaths observed in patients treated with idelalisib in randomized trials comparing idelalisib with chlorambucil. According to Dr Wierda, idelalisib is probably not an appropriate first-line treatment but has a place in salvage therapy. In terms of infections, he discusses the need to give prophylaxis for herpes virus and pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP) as well as the need for monitoring…

Bruce Johnson, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA and recently elected president of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), discusses the challenge of balancing the needs of the society’s national and international members. Prof Johnson discusses how ASCO has to be accountable to its US members in terms of implementing treatments, reimbursement, and ensuring federal and state policies are followed. For the international members, the challenge is to make sure that they feel integrated and that they have a voice within the society. Recorded at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting, in Chicago,…

Keith Stewart, MB, ChB from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ discusses the issue of drug affordability and access in multiple myeloma (MM). Prof Stewart talks about how it is becoming more of a challenge to get access to novel drugs and how the situation differs between the US and other countries. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.

William Wierda, MD, PhD from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX gives an overview of his poster on the ‘Management of transaminase elevations in patients receiving idelalisib’ in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) presented at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL. According to Dr Wierda, transaminitis can be seen in patients who are initiating on idelalisib after approximately 2-4 weeks and is usually reversible. The management of this side effect is important in order to avoid damage to the liver.

Ruben Mesa, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ talks about his highlights from the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL. In particular, Dr Mesa discusses why he is looking forward to hearing about key drugs in disease areas that are relevant to myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), which include acute leukemias and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). According to Dr Mesa, the data on immunotherapy and intercellular therapy in these areas is of interest. For MPNs, he highlights the five year update on the safety and efficacy of ruxolitinib.

Keith Stewart, MB, ChB from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ summarizes the results of two Phase III trials of daratumumab in multiple myeloma (MM) reported at ASCO and EHA. The CASTOR study (NCT02136134) reported at ASCO 2016 looks at the combination of daratumumab with bortezomib and dexamethasone vs bortezomib and dexamethasone. The results show that the addition of daratumumab to bortezimib in relapsed patients, improves reponse rate and progression-free survival (PFS). The POLLUX trial (NCT02076009) looking at daratumumab with lenalidomide and dexamethasone vs lenalidomide and dexamethasone reported at EHA 2016, also show improved response and PFS. Recorded at the American…

Michael Thompson, MD, PhD of the Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI shares some key Twitter tips for hematologists. Some of the tips Dr Thompson gives include staying authentic, deciding on what kind of presence you would like to establish and providing full disclosure on any potential conflicts of interest. Dr Thompson also mentions that Twitter may not be right for everyone and suggests other formats such as blogging. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.

Sagar Lonial, MD from the Emory University Winship Cancer Institute, Atlanta, GA gives an overivew of the session ‘Are We Ready for Personalized Therapy?’ in multiple myeloma (MM) held at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. According to Prof Lonial, the focus was on the assessment of risk and disease status as well as new treatment options. Some of the topics covered were risk assessment using new genetics and genomics information, use of minimal residual disease (MRD) assessment through next-generation sequencing (NGS) or flow cytometry and the use of new drugs in the relapse…

Ruben Mesa, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ discusses updates to the Phase III PERSIST-1 trial of pacritinib for myelofibrosis presented at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL. Pacritinib is an oral JAK2/FLT3 inhibitor and the PERSIST-1 study (NCT01773187) looks at pacritinib vs best alternative therapy in patients who are JAK inhibitor naive and could have any platelet count at trial entry. Dr Mesa talks about the long-term data, which show improvements in splenomegaly and symptoms. He further discusses the concerns around the safety of the drug, in particular the number of…

Michael Thompson, MD, PhD of the Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI discusses why hematologists should use social media. First Dr Thompson addresses some of the common reservations medical professionals might have about using social media. He then talks about its benefits, such as receiving highly curated information from other Twitter users, discussing opinions and influencing other people to affect change. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.

Michael Thompson, MD, PhD of the Aurora Health Care, Milwaukee, WI talks about the quality of the ASCO and ASH conference social media networks and how this might make them valuable to medical professionals. Dr Thompson discusses the quality of the ASCO and ASH networks in terms of 9 metrics such as connectivity and diversity and how they are expanding. Apart from Twitter, he also mentions the use of Snapchat, Periscope and Instagram. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.

Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA outlines the side effects that may occur in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients treated with idealisib and how to manage them. Side effects to look out for include neutropenia, bacterial infections, immunologic toxicitiy and diarrhea colitis. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting held in Chicago, IL.

Keith Stewart, MB, ChB from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ gives an overview of his talk on the management and treatment of high-risk multiple myeloma (MM) patients. According to Prof Stewart, high-risk features can be found in approximately 15-25% of patients and include the 17p deletion, serum translocations, and the alleviation of LDH in the peripheral blood. Prof Stewart further discusses how to treat high-risk patients and this includes triplet therapy, the importance of achieving a molecular complete remission (CR), the role of a second transplant and the promise of immunotherapy. Recorded at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016…

Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA gives an overview of her talk on targeted therapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) held at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Dr Brown adresses unanswered questions such as how to salvage patients who relapse on the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib and how to optimize the management of toxicities some patients experience. Dr Brown further discusses the issues around the trial of the PI-3 kinase inhibitor idelalisib, in particular infections in the setting of neutropenia.

Elias Jabbour, MD from the The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX gives an overview of the results of the INO-VATE trial of inotuzumab ozogamicin (InO) for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) presented at the American Society of Oncology (ASCO) 2016 Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. Dr Jabbour explains the mechanism of action inotuzumab ozogamicinm, which is a monoclonal antibody that targets CD22 and the design of the INO-VATE trial (NCT01564784), which is a randomized Phase III trial. Patients received either standard of care or inotuzumab and the primary endpoint was response to therapy and overal survival…

Anas Younes, MD of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY talks about Checkmate 205, a registrational trial of nivolumab for the treatment of relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma, which lead to the approval of this treatment by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Checkmate 205 was initiated based on a previous Phase I study with 23 patients that showed response rates of 70%, contrasting with other studies that presented lower response rates (2030%). Based on the promising data from the Phase I trial, two registrational trials were initiated, one with nivolumab, and one with pembrolizumab, seeking potential FDA approval. Checkmate…

Noopur Raje, MD from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA discusses highlights on the in vivo drug screening session in multiple myeloma (MM) held at the Myeloma 2016 meeting in Boston, MA with Constantine Mitsiades, MD, PhD from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA and Caroline Heckman, PhD from the University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland. Dr Heckman provides an overview of her talk on stratifying myeloma by in vivo drug response. According to Dr Heckman, it is important to work with real patient samples as the disease is very hetergenous. With a high throughput screening assay it is possible to…

Chng Wee Joo, MB, ChB, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath, FAMS from the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore discusses the current status of genomics in multiple myeloma (MM) at the Myeloma 2016 meeting in Boston, MA with Gareth Morgan, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, PhD of the UAMS Myeloma Institute, Little Rock, AR and Michele Cavo, MD from the University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy. First, they discuss how the data on genomics in MM might be used in clinical practice. According to Prof Morgan, it has implications for treatment as it shows the need to use combinations of drugs to overcome interclonal heterogeneity. Also,…

Ray Comenzo, MD from the Tufts Medical Center, Boston, MA discusses the practical applications of genomics in multiple myeloma (MM) at the Myeloma 2016 meeting held in Boston, MA with Pieter Sonneveld, MD, PhD from Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands and Leif Bergsagel, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. First, Prof Sonneveld discusses the participation of patients in clinical trials, in particular in regard to obtaining patient specimen and why these specimen are important. Prof Bergsagel then discusses the importance of MYC and the potential role in prognosis and therapy of this gene. Prof Sonneveld further discusses the…

Nelson Leung, MD from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN gives an overview of the common kidney problems in multiple myeloma (MM). The proteins produced by the myeloma cells are toxic to the kidney in various ways. Prof Leung disccuses light chain cast nephropathy (LCCN), which is the most common complication and is a myeloma defining event, as well as immunoglobulin light chain (AL) amyloidosis, monoclonal immunoglobulin deposition disease (MIDD) and light chain proximal tubulopathy (LCPT) with or without Fanconi syndrome. Recorded at the 2016 World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy) in Paris, France.

Evangelos Terpos, MD, PhD, University of Athens, Athens, Greece gives an overview of the session on imaging and disease assessment in multiple myeloma (MM) held at the 2016 World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy) in Paris, France. Dr Terpos explains that even though the standard criteria of reponse (complete response, partial response and progressive or stable disease) are defined by the International Myeloma Working Group, there are responses beyond the complete response (CR). He outlines the role of imaging in defining myeloma and complete response as well as the role of minimal residual disease (MRD) and the criteria…

In this Best of the Day interview from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Dr. Anne S. Tsao and Ramaswamy Govindan discuss the latest updates in thoracic malignancies presented during the meeting. Earn CME credit for this activity at the following location: http://elc.imedex.com/ELC/Specialty-Search.aspx?search=7216 © 2016 Imedex, LLC.

In this Best of the Day interview from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Dr. Anne S. Tsao and David H. Ilson discuss the latest updates in gastrointestinal malignancies presented during the meeting. Earn CME credit for this activity at the following location: http://elc.imedex.com/ELC/Specialty-Search.aspx?search=7216 © 2016 Imedex, LLC.

In this Best of the Day interview from the 2016 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, Dr. Anne S. Tsao and Bernard Escudier discuss the latest updates in renal cell carcinoma and bladder cancer presented during the meeting. Earn CME credit for this activity at the following location: http://elc.imedex.com/ELC/Specialty-Search.aspx?search=7216 © 2016 Imedex, LLC.

This Best of the Day activity serves to provide a brief synopsis of the key points presented on thoracic oncology at the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting held in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Ramaswamy Govindan and Dr. Anne S. Tsao discuss clinical updates for the therapy and management of patients with lung cancer. This expert review and conversation covers recent developments in molecular targets, immunotherapy, and management strategies for patients with early and advanced stage lung cancer. Earn CME credit for this activity at the following location: http://elc.imedex.com/ELC/Specialty-Search.aspx?search=7213 © 2016 Imedex, LLC.

How do I participate in a clinical trial? Patient Power Founder and Host, Andrew Schorr, and head and neck cancer expert Dr. William William, Jr. of MD Anderson Cancer Center explore the variables related to head and neck cancer clinical trials. Together, they discuss trial types, novel approaches, variations between trials, and how to identify and overcome barriers to clinical trial participation. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

From our Ask the Expert series, MPN expert Dr. John Mascarenhas of Mount Sinai School of Medicine, answers Patient Power community member, Kathys question about the connection between depression and interferon therapy. Dr. Mascarenhas takes a serious approach to depression, the effect on quality of life, and the need for treatment Depression needs to be discussedmonitoredand treated. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

MPN specialist Dr. Mark Heaney discusses his role at Columbia University Medical Center and his approach to patient care. As a clinical investigator, Dr. Heaney provides insight into new and exciting treatments in development such as new JAK inhibitors, telomerase and others. He stresses the importance of understanding the disease to allow patients to live longer and better. Get email alerts | http://www.patientpower.info/alerts Subscribe on YouTube | http://www.youtube.com/patientpower Like on Facebook | http://www.fb.com/patientpower.info Follow on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/patientpower Follow on Google+ | http://www.google.com/+patientpowerinfo

The Oncotype DX® 21-gene Recurrence Score® result stratifies patients with breast cancer into low-, intermediate- and high-risk groups that correspond to the likelihood of recurrence after the initial diagnosis. At the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC), held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 9 to 11 March 2016, Oleg Gluz, MD, from the West German Study Group, Mönchengladbach, Germany, discusses the evidence of the predictive value of the Recurrence Score® result to guide decision making for adjuvant chemotherapy. This content is supported by Genomic Health, Inc.

Bruce Johnson, MD, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, explains the challenges associated with developing clinical trials for patients with rarer solid tumors, including defining subgroups of patients for specific therapeutic approaches and recruiting sufficient numbers of participants. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

At the 2016 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Bruce Johnson, MD, from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, talks about the increasing cost of drugs, and how he, as President-Elect of ASCO plans to tackle the issue. He references one of the abstracts presented at the meeting, which showed that the cost of drugs can vary more than 5-fold form one country to another.

Bruce Johnson, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA has recently been elected as President of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). At the 2016 Annual Meeting, he discussed one of his main goals to bring precision medicine from the academic centers to community practices, and provide physicians with the tools that will allow them to offer the best possible care to the patients that need it.

The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) has recently elected Bruce Johnson, MD of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA as President. At the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, Prof. Johnson discusses how it will be a challenge to balance the needs of national and international members. On one hand, ASCO has to be accountable to its members in terms of implementation of treatments, reimbursement, and ensuring Federal and Estate policies are followed. On the other hand, its important to make sure international members feel integrated and that they have a voice within the Society.

Eric Low, Chief Executive at Myeloma UK, discusses how global collaboration is key in multiple myeloma research. According to Eric Low, it is important to be more strategic within these collaborations and academia can improve access to novel drugs by designing different studies. For example, studies need to be designed so they are commissionable and adaptive. He further highlights how Myeloma UK has focused on building research infrastructure, assets and capabilities in the UK, and how the organization is planning on expanding its collaborations globally. Recorded at the 2016 World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy) in Paris, France.

Eric Low, Chief Executive of Myeloma UK, explains the evolving strategies for improving the drug development process for therapies for patients with multiple myeloma so that the right therapies are delivered to the right patients. One such strategy is the Myeloma UKs Clinical Trial Network, which comprises of experts, hospitals and research centres across the UK aimed at accelerating the testing of and access to new myeloma therapies. Recorded at the 2016 World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy) in Paris, France.

Eric Low, Chief Executive of Myeloma UK, discusses recent advances in the development of new drugs for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma and emphasises the importance of determining the cost effectiveness of new therapeutic approaches to ensure patient access. Recorded at the 2016 World Congress on Controversies in Multiple Myeloma (COMy) in Paris, France.

At the 6th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC), held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1316 April 2016, Keith Kerr, BSc, MB ChB, FRCPath, FRCPE, from the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, summarises future research directions for biomarkers in the management of patients with lung cancer, including the opportunities and challenges associated testing for multiple biomarkers and liquid biopsies.

At the 6th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC), held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1316 April 2016, Keith Kerr, BSc, MB ChB, FRCPath, FRCPE, from the University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, United Kingdom, discusses the 2015 World Health Organization (WHO) Classification of Tumors of the Lung, Pleura, Thymus and Heart. Significant changes include the new classification for small biopsies and cytology and use of immunohistochemistry throughout the classification.

At the 6th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC), held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1316 April 2016, Suresh Ramalingam, MD, from The Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, discusses mechanisms of acquired resistance, including the C797S mutation, to third-generation epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) that inhibit EGFR with T790M in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

At the 6th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC), held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1316 April 2016, Niki Karachaliou, MD, from the Dr Rosell Oncology Institute, Quirón Dexeus University Hospital, Barcelona, Spain, highlights the development of targeted cancer therapeutic agents in combination as an important approach for the treatment of patients with lung cancer.

La Dra Enriqueta Felip explica las principales cuestiones que se han tratado en el 6º Congreso Europeo de Cáncer de Pulmón que tuvo lugar en Ginebra en abril de 2016. El tratamiento con inmunoterapia y el abordaje a pacientes con resistencia al tratamiento fueron algunos de los temas más destacados del congreso.

Professor Joseph Mikhael, MD from Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ talks to us about the use of social media during medical congresses, focussing on his experience from #ASCO16. He discusses the importance of expanding the conversation to those who can’t make it to congress and highlights that introducing new opinions will improve the content that comes out of these meetings. Patients are becoming a bigger part of things these days and with many data and presentations being published or presented online, in an open-access format where anyone can contribute, are we risking diluting ‘expert’ conversation? Prof. Mikhael tells us what he…

At the 10th European Breast Cancer Conference (EBCC), held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, from 9 to 11 March 2016, Oleg Gluz, MD, from the West German Study Group, Mönchengladbach, Germany, discusses the impact of the outcomes from PlanB on adjuvant decision-making for patients with early breast cancer. PlanB is a prospective phase 3 trial evaluating the Oncotype DX® 21-gene Recurrence Score® result for defining a low-risk subgroup of patients with node-negative disease and high-risk clinicopathological factors as well as patients with node-positive disease who could be treated with adjuvant endocrine therapy alone. This content is supported by Genomic Health, Inc.…

Eric Klein, MD from the Glickman Urology & Kidney Institute, Cleveland, OH discusses biopsy-based genomic testing in men with early-stage prostate cancer. It has been recognised that many men with with early-stage have indolent tumors that do not need to be treated. Tests have been developed that determine how aggressive a specific tumor is and whether or not the patient requires treatment, or how frequently they need to be followed. It is hoped that these tests may be used to help physicians make an informed decision about what is best for each individual patient a precision-medicine approach applied to early-stage…

At the 6th European Lung Cancer Conference (ELCC), held in Geneva, Switzerland, from 1316 April 2016, David Carbone, MD, PhD, from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, discusses a phase 1b trial of the anti-mesothelin vaccine CRS-207 plus chemotherapy as frontline treatment for malignant pleural mesothelioma.

David Steensma, MD of the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA discusses the arrival of a new splicing modulator called H3B-8800 into clinic later this year for patients with myeloid neoplasms. Dr Steensma discusses how a subset of patients with IDH mutations are potentially eligible for treatment with the IDH inhibitors AG-221, AG-120 and AG-811. Further, Dr Steensma discusses developments for some biomarkers signatures, such as the super enhancer signature, that may predict response to retinoid therapy and bromodomain inhibitor therapy. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH), held…

Sahra Ali, MD from Queen’s Centre Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, UK discusses the need to set up a registry for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in pregnancy. According to Dr Ali, a registry will become more important in future as women are getting pregnant later in life, which means that the risk of developing AML is greater. The registry will not only register the incidence of acute leukemia in pregnancy but also the management of the cases, which will help inform guidelines. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH)…

David Steensma, MD of the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA discusses the recurrent mutation in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). There are over forty mutations and the most common are epigenetic patterning or chromatin remodelling genes such as TET2, DNMT3A, ASXL1, as well as splicing modulators such as SF3B1, SRSF2 and U2AF1 and further, p53 mutations, which are found in 5-10% of patients and are enriched in those who have previously been treated for another malignancy. Other mutations include those that activate tyrosine kinases and mutations that alter cohesions. Dr Steensma also speaks about the difficulty in targeting these mutations,…

Sonja Zweegman, MD, PhD from the VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands gives an overview of her talk on risk stratification in older multiple myeloma (MM) patients held at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH) in Glasgow, Scotland. According to Prof Zweegman, a key question that needs to be answered is which patients will benefit from novel drugs. According to Dr Zweegman, performance score and age are not sufficient to answer this question. Prof Zweegman then discusses the frailty score introduced by the International Myeloma Working Group (IMWG), which…

Sahra Ali, MD from Queen’s Centre Castle Hill Hospital, Hull, UK gives an overivew of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in pregnancy and the guidance that is available for such cases. According to Dr Ali, AML in pregnancy is a great challenge as the wellbeing of both the mother and the fetus has to be considered. The guidance for acute leukemia in pregnancy can be applied to other hematological and non-hematological malignancies and covers chemotherapy administration, management of sepsis and timing as well as type of delivery. According to Dr Ali, chemotherapy can be adminstered relatively safely during the second and…

Peter Dreger, MD from Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany gives an overview of his talk on the current role of allogeneic stem cell transplantation in lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) held at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH) in Glasgow, Scotland. The context of the talk was the new era of lymphoma and CLL treatment, which changes the role of transplant. According to Prof Dreger, transplant will continue to be the only curative treatment option for CLL while for lymphoma, it is less clear.

David Steensma, MD of the Dana-Faber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA gives an overview of his talk on how to treat patients with difficult forms of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) held at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British Society of Haematology (BSH) and International Society of Hematology (ISH) in Glasgow, Scotland. Dr Steensma discusses how for some of these patients, there is no prescribed algorithm or obvious approach for treatment. This includes lower risk patients for whom erythropoietin and lenalidomide have failed and high-risk patients who have been failed by azacitidine or decitabine, as well as post-transplant relapses and patients whose…

Chng Wee Joo, MB, ChB, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath, FAMS from the National University Cancer Institute, Singapore discusses how next-generation sequencing (NGS) will change clinical practice in multiple myeloma (MM) and other cancers. According to Prof Chng, cancer treatment will move away from disease specific treatment to treatment based on molecular defects. There are still a number of gaps that need to be addressed before NGS can be applied in practice, such as the meaning of the individual genes and mutations and how doctors can interpret those to choose the right treatment. Recorded at the 2016 Annual Meeting of the British…