HEMATOLOGY

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Jennifer Woyach, MD, discussed the rationale for evaluating a response-dependent treatment discontinuation strategy for older patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She highlighted the importance of determining an optimal discontinuation strategy in this patient population.

Dasatinib, a second-generation Abl-tyrosine kinase inhibitor, used concurrently with an intensive chemotherapy regimen yields superior outcomes compared with imatinib plus chemotherapy in pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia, according to the results from the first randomized phase III clinical trial comparing the 2 drugs in this patients&nbsp;<a>population</a>.

Rajat Bannerji, MD, PhD, discusses the safety and efficacy results of REGN1979 in the follicular lymphoma cohort enrolled in the phase I study of patients with relapsed/refractory B-Cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma who were previously treated with an anti-CD20 agent.

Integrating a geriatric assessment into the care of older adults who are receiving cancer treatment in communi&shy;ty oncology practices improves patient and caregiver satisfaction and encourages commu&shy;nication about aging-related concerns, accord&shy;ing to results of a clinical trial that enrolled 541 patients with advanced cancer.

A rolling submission of a New Drug Application for umbralisib has been initiated by drug developer, TG Therapeutics, Inc, which is requesting accelerated approval of the agent from the FDA for the treatment of patients with previously treated marginal zone lymphoma and follicular lymphoma. The company reported in a press release that one application was considered to be acceptable for both drugs and the NDA will be completed in the first half of 2020.<br /> &nbsp;

The autologous dendric cell vaccine targeting Wilms tumor-1 antigens with or without preferentially Expressed Antigen in Melanoma was well tolerated and feasible in patients with acute myeloid leukemia, meeting the co-primary end points of the phase I/II clinical trial.

Jennifer A. Woymach, MD, provides background information on the AO41702 study, which evaluates targeted therapy ibrutinib or ibrutinib plus rituximab in elderly patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia.<br /> &nbsp;

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Rajat Bannerji, MD, PhD, discussed the safety and efficacy findings from the phase I trial of a bispecific antibody in patients with heavily pretreated NHL, including cohorts of patients with follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

The present and future benefits of telehealth in oncology can be observed through Tahoe For&shy;est Cancer Center and its affiliation with the UC Davis Cancer Center, use of other remote clinics, and participation in virtual tumor boards. Even though there are roadblocks to telehealth reaching more locations and more patients, the potential benefit warrants the time needed to get over those hurdles.

Adam Fisch, MD, PhD, a clinical fellow in molecular genetic pathology at the Brigham&rsquo;s Women&rsquo;s Hospital, discusses the key points from a patient case he presented at the 2019 Association for Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting and Expo, in which the patient with acute myeloid leukemia harboring a FLT3-TKD mutation lost the mutation following relapse on gilteritinib.

The phase II TELLOMAK trial, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of lacutamab in patients with advanced T-cell lymphomas, has been placed on a partial clinical hold by the FDA. The decision was made following discussions regarding Good Manufacturing Practice deficiencies at a subcontractor site that manufacturers the agent&nbsp;in December of 2019, according to a press release from Innate Pharma SA.

The overall response rate was improved with itacitinib plus corticosteroids compared with placebo plus corticosteroids in patients with treatment-na&iuml;ve acute graft-versus-host disease in the phase III GRAVITAS-301 trial. However, the difference in ORR for the treatment arm compared with the placebo arm was not statistically significant, missing the trial&rsquo;s primary end point.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Constantine S. Tam, MD, discussed the findings of&nbsp;the phase III CAPTIVATE study.&nbsp;

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Courtney D. DiNardo, MD, discussed the interim analysis results from the ongoing phase II trial evaluating the combination of enasidenib plus azacitidine in newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Lori Leslie, MD, discusses toxicities and outcomes observed in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia treated with acalabrutinib in real-word clinics.

CLR 131, a small-molecule, targeted Phospholipid Drug Conjugate, has been granted Orphan Drug Designation by the FDA for the treatment of patients with lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, according to a press release from Cellectar BioSciences, Inc, developer of the drug.<br /> &nbsp;

In a preliminary clinical trial, ARQ 531, an&nbsp;investigational Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor, showed safety and clinical activity across a variety of B-cell malignancies.

With the absence of a standard of care for chronic neutrophilic leukemia and atypical chronic myeloid leukemia, 2 rare&nbsp;BCR-ABL1-negative myeloid neoplasms, ruxolitinib may be a viable treatment option after a phase II study showed potential for response in this patient population.

Results from a phase I/Ib trial showed revealed that preliminary activity was seen with IMGN632, an investigational anti-CD123 antibody-drug conjugate, given to patients with relapsed/refractory acute myelogenous leukemia or blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm, according to data presented at the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting.