LYMPHOMAS

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Infusions of CTL019, a CAR-modified T-cell therapy against CD19, achieved durable responses and showed an acceptable safety profile in heavily pretreated patients with CD19-positive DLBCL, MCL, and FL.

Treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab demonstrated durable objective response rates in patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma, diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and follicular lymphoma.

Catherine M. Diefenbach, MD, assistant professor, Department of Medicine, NYU Langone Medical Center, discusses the efficacy of two doses of polatuzumab vedotin (POV) in patients with relapsed/refractory (RR) follicular lymphoma (FL).

The 1.8-mg/kg dose of polatuzumab vedotin is as effective as the 2.4-mg/kg dose on the endpoint of progression-free survival in patients with relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma while improving tolerability, according to a pooled analysis of phase I and phase II clinical studies.

Treatment with obinutuzumab in combination with bendamustine nearly doubled progression-free survival compared with bendamustine alone in patients with rituximab-refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

While ibrutinib is a relatively new option in the treatment of B-cell NHL, it has convincing antitumor activity as a single agent in a wide variety of B-cell lymphoma subtypes and is a viable therapeutic option for patients.

Common AEs associated with brentuximab vedotin, such as peripheral neuropathy and neutropenia, are often manageable with modifications to dose and schedule.

Duvelisib (IPI-145) is an orally administered, dual inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) delta (δ) and gamma (γ) isoforms, and the drug is selective for PI3K class I isoforms over other lipid and protein kinases.

The focus in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) now needs to shift to predictive biomarkers, according to Randy Gascoyne, MD.

To gain new insight on bortezomib’s use in the frontline MCL setting, Targeted Oncology interviewed Andrew Evens, DO, MSc, director of the Tufts Cancer Center.

Although treatments and cure rates have increased significantly over the past 60 years for patients with HL, it is crucial that practitioners stay up-to-date on research that can affect outcomes for their patients with this uncommon form of cancer.

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a slow-growing and typically asymptomatic disease, characterized by many relapses.

Experts on hematologic malignancies will convene for the 19th Annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, from February 20-21 in Miami, Florida, to provide insight into recent developments in the treatment of the diseases.

Genentech, the manufacturer of obinutuzumab, plans to file for FDA and EMA approval after a phase III study of the anti-CD20 agent in indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL) garnered positive results in an interim analysis.

The FDA has expanded the approval of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for the treatment of patients with Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia.

Ninety-six percent of patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma who received treatment with the combination of brentuximab vedotin and bendamustine responded to treatment without experiencing dose-limiting toxicity.

Ann S. LaCasce, MD, discusses the combination of brentuximab vedotin and bendamustine for the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma.

Patients with HIV-associated lymphoma can effectively be treated with autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHCT), with outcomes that are similar to patients without HIV. Joseph Alvarnas, MD, presented results from a phase II study at the 2014 ASH Annual Meeting.

Joseph Alvarnas, MD, Director of Medical Quality, associate clinical professor, City of Hope, discusses the treatment of HIV-associated lymphoma.

Patients with relapsed and difficult-to-treat Hodgkin lymphoma who received brentuximab vedotin following treatment with high-dose chemotherapy and stem cell transplant had an unprecedented 50% higher likelihood of continuing to experience PFS at 2 years.

Most patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL), having previously failed three or more therapies, responded to the immunotherapy nivolumab in a small phase I trial.

Treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab (Keytruda) elicited responses in 66% of patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL).

Philippe Armand, MD, PhD, senior physician, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the utility of PD-1 inhibitors for hematologic malignancies.