LEUKEMIAS

Jordan Gauthier, MD, MSc, discussed the results presented at the 2018 ASH Annual for this clinical trial and where the research is headed for patients with CLL. He also highlights another promising combination for this patient population that was presented at the meeting as well.

A triplet regimen consisting of chlorambucil and rituximab in combination with an individualized dose of lenalidomide can potentially be used as a frontline treatment for patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia who are older or unfit for standard treatment with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab.

Jordan Gauthier, MD, MSc, discusses the rationale for combining ibrutinib with CD19-targeting chimeric antigen receptor T cells for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Kerry A. Rogers, MD, discusses phase II findings with obinutuzumab, ibrutinib, and venetoclax and the future of dose-limited regimens in CLL.

Dasatinib (Sprycel) tablets has been approved by the FDA to be used in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients &ge;1 year of age with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.<br /> &nbsp;

Precision medicine has produced some dramatic successes in patients with advanced cancer. With developments in molecular profiling, targeted therapies are being applied to multiple tumors, most notably in advanced melanoma, NSCLC, and several types of leukemia. Alison Schram, MD, and David M. Hyman, MD, point out the challenges in determining the proportion of patients who will benefit from receiving targeted therapies.

Nicole Lamanna, MD, discusses the significance of the 3-year follow-up data from the MURANO trial in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The combination of venetoclax with rituximab led to high rates of undetectable minimal residual disease for patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphoblastic leukemia. This was associated with a prolonged progression-free survival, according to a new analysis of a randomized trial presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

The BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib demonstrated promising reponse rates in patients with&nbsp;newly diagnosed or relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to results from an&nbsp;open-label phase II trial.

During a recent&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology&nbsp;</em>case-based peer perspective presentation, William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, revealed the treatment options and decisions he makes when treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Wierda explained his treatment decisions based on a patient&rsquo;s case scenario.

<br /> Farhad Ravandi-Kashani, MD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the rationale for targeting CD33 with AMG 330 in patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Although there were a variety of encouraging data presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, CLL and multiple myeloma undoubtedly ruled the day, according to poll results. As these topics heated up on Twitter, a few experts took a moment to discuss their thoughts on some of the top abstracts that were presented.

A newly discovered recurrent mutation in the&nbsp;B-cell leukemia/lymphoma 2 protein&nbsp;in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia has been linked to venetoclax resistance.

Venetoclax monotherapy induced high rates of minimal residual disease in the peripheral blood and bone marrow in patients with&nbsp;relapsed/refractory chronic lymphoblastic leukemia in a pooled analysis of 2 clinical trials. Data from the analysis was reported during the poster session at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

According to results from a small clinical study, checkpoint&nbsp;inhibitors in combination with&nbsp;chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy showed promise for improving CAR T-cell persistance in some patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;

Patients with&nbsp;acute lymphoblastic leukemia saw a reduction in the risk for recurrence after receiving a stem cell transplant for the first time following treatment with CD19 chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy.

According to updated data from the phase II ELIANA study,&nbsp;CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel as treatment of&nbsp;pediatric and young adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia sustained rates of&nbsp;relapse-free survival and overall survival at 24 and 18 months.&nbsp;

Gilteritinib has been approved by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of adult patients with&nbsp;<em>FLT3</em>&nbsp;mutation&ndash;positive relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

A new drug application for&nbsp;quizartinib has been granted a priority review by the FDA&nbsp;for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory&nbsp;<em>FLT3</em>-ITD&ndash;positive acute myeloid leukemia. The designation is based on findings from the&nbsp;phase III QuANTUM-R study.&nbsp;

Glasdegib (Daurismo) has been granted FDA approval for combination use&nbsp;with low-dose cytarabine for the treatment of patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who are aged 75 years or older or who are ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

Venetoclax (Venclexta) has been granted an accelerated approval by the FDA for combined use with&nbsp;azacitidine or decitabine or low-dose cytarabine as a treatment for&nbsp;adult patients with newly-diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia who are aged 75 years or older,&nbsp;or who have comorbidities that preclude use of intensive induction chemotherapy.

<br /> Mary-Beth Percival, MD, discusses the ongoing development of FLT3 inhibitors and other current research in patients with AML.

Susan M. O&rsquo;Brien, MD, discusses the challenges with the 3 oral agents approved in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is characterized by the clonal proliferation and accumulation of small, mature-appearing CD5-positive B lymphocytes in the blood, bone marrow, and secondary lymphoid tissues.&nbsp;A CLL diagnosis is established by the presence of more than 5x109/L peripheral lymphocytes co-expressing CD5, CD19, and CD23, and weakly expressing CD20, CD79b, and surface immunoglobulin.&nbsp;Small lymphocytic lymphoma represents a clinical variant of CLL and is similarly managed.

A look back at all the&nbsp;FDA news&nbsp;that happened in the month of&nbsp;October 2018, including several new FDA approvals, priority reviews, a breakthrough therapy designation, and more, in a variety of cancer types.<br /> &nbsp;