HEMATOLOGY

A phase II study of experimental anti-mitochondrial drug devimstat in patients with relapsed/refractory Burkitt’s lymphoma/leukemia has been expanded to include patients at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, according to a press release from Rafael Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Andrew M. Evens, DO, MSc, discusses the significance of the results from the phase III ECHELON-1 trial in which patients with stage III/IV classical Hodgkin lymphoma were treated with the combination of brentuximab vedotin plus doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine.

In November 2019, the FDA approved a number of treatments, including acalabrutinib for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic leukemia, as well as zanubrutinib for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma. A biosimilar for pegfilgrastim was also approved under indications.

Thomas Kipps, MD, PhD, discusses the chronic lymphocytic leukemia treatment spectrum and the explosion of targeted therapies in the field. 

Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, discusses the rapid developments in the chronic lymphocytic leukemia treatment landscape.

The treatment spectrum for chronic lymphocytic leukemia has expanded significantly with the development and approval of several new agents.

Following the FDA’S approval of gilteritinib in November 2018, adult patients with FLT3-mutant acute myeloid leukemia were able to receive the FLT3 tyrosine kinase inhibitor when they relapsed or became refractory to a prior therapy. The agent has demonstrated promising efficacy in the population of patients with AML harboring FLT3 mutations.

In patients whose solid<strong> </strong>tumors harbor a mutation in <em>KRAS </em>G12C, therapy with MRTX849 has produced promising responses and acceptable toxicity across 3 tumors types, according to data presented at the 2019 American Association for Cancer Research&ndash;National Cancer Institute&ndash;European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics.

Hodgkin lymphoma represents approximately 10% of all cases of malignant lymphoma. This group of diseases most commonly affects adolescent and young adults, although approximately 20% to 25% of patients are aged &ge;60 years at diagnosis. Advanced-stage disease is generally classified as Ann Arbor stage III to IV, but clinical trials often incorporate patients with high-risk stage II disease, such as those with B symptoms, multiple sites, or bulky disease

The FDA has approved acalabrutinib for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma as either an initial or subsequent therapy.

Kanti R. Rai, MD, professor of medicine, Northwell Health and Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University, explains the importance of attention to age when treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is a typically elderly patient population.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology at the 2019 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, Richard R.&nbsp; Furman, MD, reviewed his presentation on prognostic markers and their importance in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Kerry Rogers, MD,&nbsp;discusses the rationale for evaluating ibrutinib in patients with hairy cell leukemia in the phase II trial.

The emergence of resistance mutations in patients with cancer who receive targeted therapies is an expected development that will require new diagnostic methods of identifying the mechanisms through which these alterations occur, according to Fei Dong, MD, during the 2019 Association for Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting.<br /> &nbsp;

A supplemental New Drug Application for the combination of ibrutinib and rituximab has been submitted to the FDA for the first-line treatment of patients aged 70 years or younger with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, according to a press release from ibrutinib developer, AbbVie.

Pinkal Desai, MD, discusses the factors a practicing physician should consider when selecting an appropriate induction therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Eytan M. Stein, MD,&nbsp;reviews the current treatment landscape of acute myeloid leukemia, underscores the importance of molecular monitoring, and highlights where the field is headed.

The FDA has approved luspatercept-aamt for the treatment of anemia in adult patients with beta thalassemia who need regular red blood cell transfusions.

At the 2019 Association for Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting and Expo, Adam Fisch, MD, PhD, presented a unique patient case where a patient with acute myeloid leukemia harboring a <em>FLT3</em>-TKD mutation lost the mutation following relapse on gilteritinib.<br /> &nbsp;

A technique involving BH3 profiling is emerging as a promising drug discovery tool for assessing whether a tumor is primed for cell death and would respond to anticancer therapy, according to a presentation at the 2019 Association for Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting.

Basem William, MD, discusses challenges in treating patients with cutaneous and peripheral T-cell lymphomas, as well as the challenges in conducting clinical trials in this patient population.

Detailed results of the phase III ADMIRAL trial, which evaluated the use of gilteritinib in adult patients with FLT3 mutation&ndash;positive relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reaffirm the improved overall survival rate seen with gilteritinib compared with chemotherapy in these patients, according to a press release from Astellas Pharma Inc.

In October 2019, the FDA approved a new treatment option for patients with advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, as well as a new dosing regimen for patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. Additionally, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designations to 2 therapies, as well as an orphan drug designation, a priority review, and 2 fast track designations.

During a recent&nbsp;Targeted Oncology&nbsp;live case-based peer perspectives event, Olga Frankfurt, MD, discussed the complications that could development during the treatment of patients with graft-vs-host disease. Frankfurt explained these complications in the context of a patient who develops acute GVHD after undergoing hematopoietic cell transplant.&nbsp;

Topline results from Re-MIND, an observational retrospective study, demonstrated that the combination of tafasitamab with lenalidomide had a statistically significant and superior objective response rate compared with lenalidomide monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma who were not eligible for high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant, announced MorphoSys AG, the manufacturer of tafasitamab, in a press release.