HEMATOLOGY

Therapeutic Management of Immune Thrombocytopenia

Neil E. Kay, MD, professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, addresses the “Big 4” in salvage therapies for patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, including a newer therapy coming down the pipeline now.

According to findings from the phase III QuANTUM-R study, overall survival was improved with quizartinib compared with chemotherapy in patients with&nbsp;<em>FLT3</em>-ITD&ndash;positive relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia after first-line treatment with or without hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.<br /> &nbsp;

According to results from the MABLE trial, the combination of rituximab plus bendamustine demonstrated significant value as a frontline treatment option for fludarabine-ineligible patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Results of an interim analysis from a small phase I trial presented at the 2018 American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Conference showed that CAR T-cell therapy can&nbsp;induce next generation sequencing negativity in patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia, suggesting a &ldquo;synergistic&rdquo; relationship with hematopoietic cell transplant that could enhance patient outcomes.

Results from a recent study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania may demonstrate why some patients with chronic&nbsp;lymphocytic leukemia are resistant to tisagenlecleucel, while potentially providing a pathway to enhance patient response.

The Hassenfeld Children&rsquo;s Hospital at NYU Langone and Perlmutter Cancer Center recently welcomed 2 new leaders in pediatric oncology, Elizabeth A. Raetz, MD, and Theodore P. Nicolaides, MD.

The combination of bendamustine and rituximab induced a 12-month progression-free survival of 78.6% for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, suggesting that the combination is an effective first salvage regimen.

In top-line results from part 2 of the phase IIb STORM trial, selinexor induced an overall response rate of 25.4% in patients with penta-refractory multiple myeloma, according to&nbsp;Karyopharm Therapeutics,&nbsp;the manufacturer of the oral SINE compound.

Based on data from the phase II JULIET study, tisagenlecleucel has received FDA approval for the treatment of&nbsp;adult patients with relapsed/refractory large B-cell lymphoma&mdash;including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, high-grade B-cell lymphoma, and DLBCL arising from follicular lymphoma&mdash;after 2 or more lines of systemic therapy.

The FDA approved several indications throughout the month of April 2018.&nbsp;A number of drugs were granted priority review and Fast Track designation. The FDA also halted all clinical trials using&nbsp;tazemetostat as treatment, and new initiatives were introduced&nbsp;to help ease the development of genetic and genomic-based tests.&nbsp;Check out our list of all FDA happenings from April 2018.

A&nbsp;herpes zoster subunit vaccine effectively prevented episodes of HZ and other related complications among patients who had recently underwent autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplant, according to the results of the phase III ZOE-HSCT trial presented at the 2018 BMT Tandem Meetings.

A recommendation&nbsp;has been made by the&nbsp;European Medicines Agency&rsquo;s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use to add&nbsp;final overall survival data&nbsp;from the open-label phase III ASPIRE trial to the label for&nbsp;carfilzomib for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Experts are now questioning the previously established methods and strategies for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma while new agents and treatment techniques continue to emerge in the field.

Zhijian &ldquo;James&rdquo; Chen, PhD, has proudly been recognized by the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health for his breakthrough discovery of the enzyme cyclic GMP-AMP synthase and its corresponding pathway. He will receive the 2018 Lurie Prize in Biomedical Sciences during the FNIH Award Ceremony to be held on May 16 in Washington, DC.

Treating Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia in Elderly Patients

The National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center has chosen Primo Nery Lara, Jr., MD, to serve as director. His position will include leading a team of over 300 scientists in their annual research, with an estimated annual research funding of $90 million. The clinical enterprise also serves over 10,000 regional patients annually.