LYMPHOMAS

Alessandra Ferrajoli, MD, associate professor, Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in elderly patients.

The non-Hodgkin’s lymphomas are a diverse and heterogeneous group of neoplasms most commonly originating in B lymphocytes (80%-85%), but also in T lymphocytes (15%-20%), and, rarely, in natural killer cells.

With the growing knowledge of immune system components, signaling processes, and regulatory networks, cancer immunotherapy has yielded increasingly favorable treatment outcomes.

A wide-ranging analysis of more than 5500 breast cancer tumors that combined genomic and protein expression testing has identified promising targets to explore for treating patients with poor prognoses, with particularly notable findings involving androgen receptor (AR) expression.

Eribulin mesylate has demonstrated clinical benefit as a first-line therapy for locally recurrent or metastatic HER2- negative breast cancer, according to results of a phase II, multicenter, single-arm study.

Anas Younes, MD, chief, Lymphoma Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses treatment with idelalisib for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (iNHL)

Ari Melnick, MD, a professor of medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College, discusses EZH2 and its potential as a target in diffuse large B cell lymphoma

The intravenous pan-HDAC inhibitor belinostat (Beleodaq) as a treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL) has received a priority review designation from the FDA.

Jasmine Zain, MD, discusses how her institution is working on improving the outcome of patients with T cell lymphoma that undergo transplants.

Several oral drugs are in development for both non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). “There is different activity in different lymphoma types with different oral drugs and antibodies in development,” said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD.

Brentuximab vedotin, an anti-CD30 monoclonal antibody, has demonstrated antitumor activity in the setting of relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and has generated responses across a broad range of CD30 expression, including low or undetectable CD30 expression. Data from an ongoing phase II study were presented by Nancy Bartlett, MD, at the 55th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

Jennifer E. Amengual, MD, discusses the study she presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. The trial analyzed dual targeting with the HDAC inhibitor ACY-1215 and bortezomib in preclinical models of lymphoma.

Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, Head, Division of Hematologic Oncology, Alan N. Houghton Chair, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, highlights two studies that will be presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting.

The efficacy and safety of adding the experimental agent brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) to standard chemotherapy to treat patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is being evaluated in a randomized, open-label phase II trial.

Ari M. Melnick, MD, from Weill Cornell Medical College, comments on emerging therapies for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma.

Several oral drugs are in development for both non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). “There is different activity in different lymphoma types with different oral drugs and antibodies in development,” said Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD.

A Q&A with Andrew D. Zelenetz, MD, PhD, medical oncologist specializing in lymphoma at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York City.

Jennifer Woyach, MD, discusses the benefit of a combination therapy with ibrutinib for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).