HEMATOLOGY

Kerry Rogers, MD, 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.

In the phase II biomarker-driven trial combining retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist SY-145 with azacitidine, newly diagnosed adult patients with RARA-positive acute myeloid leukemia who were unfit for intensive chemotherapy continued to show responses to the combination and demonstrate tolerability of the regimen, according to a press release from Syros Pharmaceuticals.

Ublituximab in combination with ibrutinib demonstrated a benefit in progression-free survival over ibrutinib monotherapy, as assessed by an independent review committee, in patients with high-risk relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the final long-term results of the phase III GENUINE trial.

John DiPersio, MD, PhD, discusses targeted therapies for myeloid malignancies using DARTs, Bites, and antibody&ndash;drug conjugates, a topic he presented during the 2019 Society for Hematologic Oncology Annual Meeting.

The FDA has approved a supplemental New Drug Application for a single dose of aprepitant injectable emulsion for intravenous use in patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. The approval expands the dose for aprepitant to include a 130 mg single-dose regimen for the prevention of acute and delayed chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting.<br /> &nbsp;

Bemcentinib, a first-in-class AXL inhibitor, has been approved for a fast track designation by the FDA for the treatment of elderly patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, according to a press release from BerGenBio.<br /> &nbsp;

Ivosidenib in combination with azacitidine demonstrated promising efficacy in addition to being well tolerated in patients with newly diagnosed <em>IDH1</em>-mutant acute myeloid leukemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

The FDA has approved a supplemental biologics license application for an updated indication expanding the use of romiplostim in the treatment of adult patients with immune thrombocytopenia to include newly diagnosed patients and patients with persistent ITP who have had an insufficient response to corticosteroids, immunoglobulins, or splenectomy.

Emerging from the recent 2019 World Conference on Lung Cancer&nbsp;are several notable developments, Robert L. Ferris, MD, PhD, wrote in this issue of&nbsp;<em>Targeted Therapies in Oncology.&nbsp;</em>

Ruxolitinib demonstrated a significant improvement in overall response rate over best available therapy at day 28 in patients with steroid-refractory acute graft-versus-host disease, according to topline results from the phase III REACH2 trial.&nbsp;Novartis, the company developing the JAK inhibitor, announced in a press release that this met the primary endpoint of the trial.

Among patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome who completed myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the predictive utility of testing circulating tumor DNA was comparable with that of mutation persistence evaluation in matched bone marrow samples, according to a study published recently in Blood.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, shares a message with community oncologists about the evolving treatment landscape for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Barbara Pro, MD, spoke with a group of physicians during a <em>Targeted Oncology </em>live case-based peer perspectives discussion about the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma based on the case&nbsp;of a young woman with classic Hodgkin lymphoma.