LEUKEMIAS

Shagun Arora, MD, discusses new agents and combination studies beyond chemoimmunotherapy for patients with CLL.

Rami S. Komrokji, MD, reflects on the diverse treatment landscape of AML and touches on the prognostic importance of biomarkers.

Mazyar Shadman, MD,&nbsp;discusses the evolution of therapy in CLL and how physicians are working to balance these novel agents with additional modalities.<br /> &nbsp;

Infographic: Here, we share the top 5 oncology news stories we reported this week, including the most recent FDA updates and expert insights on key developments in the field.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Jay Yang, MD, discussed the evolution of the treatment landscape for AML and the future outlook for these treatments.

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

The next-generation sequencing assay clonoSEQ has gained FDA approval as a test for minimal residual disease in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia or multiple myeloma.

Javier A. Pinilla-Ibarz, MD, PhD,&nbsp;discusses updates in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Katy Rezvani, MD, discussed the potential she sees with CAR NK cells. She also highlighted some of the challenges with both CAR T-cell therapy in patients with CLL, as well as challenges to overcome with CAR NK cells in this patient population.

Duvelisib (Copiktra) has been approved by the FDA for the&nbsp;treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma or relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma.&nbsp;Both indications are for the treatment of patients who have received at least 2 prior therapies.

Based on data from the phase III MURANO trial, the European Medicines Agency&rsquo;s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the approval of venetoclax&nbsp;for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who have received at least 1 previous therapy. AbbVie, a co-developer of venetoclax with Roche, announced the CHMP&rsquo;s decision in a news release.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Jorge E. Cortes, MD, discussed the results from the QuANTUM-R trial, as well as some other studies investigating the use of quizartinib in different patient populations in AML.

Javier Pinilla-Ibarz, MD, PhD, senior member of the Department of Malignant Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the current treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Adding the combination of venetoclax (Venclexta) and navitoclax (ABT-263) to chemotherapy induced an objective response rate of 66.7% in adults with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia or lymphoblastic lymphoma, according to results from a small phase I study presented at the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting.

In a presentation during the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting, Terry J. Fry, MD, discussed some of the data that have been seen so far with CD19- and CD22-direct CAR T cells, and addressed resistance to these products. &nbsp;

Moxetumomab pasudotox has been approved by the FDA for the&nbsp;treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory hairy cell leukemia who have received at least 2 prior lines of therapy, including treatment with a purine nucleoside analog.

Minimal residual disease data from the phase III MURANO trial has been added to the label for venetoclax (Venclexta) by the FDA for its&nbsp;approved use in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) for previously-treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The adoption of intensive pediatric treatment regimens has resulted in improved survival for adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia over the past decade, said Wendy Stock, MD, at the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting.

Combining cladribine and low-dose cytarabine alternating with decitabine (Dacogen) resulted in high response rates and improved survival compared with currently established low-intensity therapies for patients with acute myeloid leukemia who are older than 60, according to results newly published in <em>Lancet Haematology.</em>

A supplemental biologics license application for dasatinib (Sprycel) for use in combination with chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome&ndash;positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia has been accepted by the FDA.

Blinatumomab (Blincyto) has been approved by the European&nbsp;Commission for the treatment of&nbsp;pediatric patients with Philadelphia chromosome&ndash;negative, CD19-positive B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is refractory or in relapse after receiving at least 2 prior therapies or in relapse after receiving prior allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Tisagenlecleucel has gained approval from the European Commission as a treatment for adult&nbsp;patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that is relapsed or refractory after 2 or more lines of systemic therapy, or patients up to 25 years of age with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia that is refractory, in relapse posttransplant, or in second or later relapse.

Javier Pinilla-Ibarz, MD, PhD, senior member of the Department of Malignant Hematology at Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the biggest challenge in treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Kerry Rogers, MD, assistant professor at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses a short-term&nbsp;treatment&nbsp;strategy for&nbsp;reducing tumor burden and the risk for tumor lysis syndrome in patients with&nbsp;chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Susan M. O&rsquo;Brien, MD,&nbsp;discusses some of the latest intriguing data in the treatment of CLL, and the growing importance of mutation status.