Latest Conference Articles

Findings from the longest follow-up to date evaluating up to 5 years of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) show that the agent is safe and effective.

Combining obinutuzumab (Gazyva) with chemotherapy in the first-line setting reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 34% versus rituximab (Rituxan) plus chemotherapy in patients with follicular lymphoma, according to findings from the phase III GALLIUM study.

Pembrolizumab (Keytruda), pomalidomide (Pomalyst), and dexamethasone had an objective response rate of 65% and a very good partial response or better rate of 29% for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, according to phase II findings presented at the 2016 ASH Annual Meeting.

Data from a prospective assessment of minimal residual disease from the phase III CASTOR and POLLUX studies demonstrated at least a 3-fold increase in conversion to negative MRD status with the addition of daratumumab (Darzalex) to standard-of-care regimens in the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Jeffrey Jones, MD, MPH, associate professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, discusses the benefits of venetoclax in chronic lymphocytic luekemia (CLL).

Shaji Kumar, MD, professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the efficacy seen with venetoclax in multiple myeloma during the ASH Annual Meeting 2016.

With treatment for newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia remaining essentially unchanged over the last 4 decades, researchers are hopeful that the addition of the investigational agent vadastuximab talirine to standard 7+3 induction therapy may improve survival for these patients. 

Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) induced responses lasting at least 4 months in 56% of patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma versus 13% in patients receiving physician’s choice of standard therapies, according to findings from the phase III ALCANZA trial.

Younger patients with mantle cell lymphoma lived significantly longer and without disease progression or clinical events when they received rituximab maintenance therapy after stem cell transplantation.

Consolidation therapy with bortezomib/lenalidomide/dexamethasone (VRD) followed by maintenance with lenalidomide until progression or toxicity showed promising results over maintenance alone for patients with transplant-eligible multiple myeloma (NDMM) up to 65 years old, according to a final analysis of the EMN02 trial.

TKIs can safely be stopped or dose-reduced without jeopardizing long-term outcomes for select patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who have obtained a major molecular response.

Treatment with the combination of nivolumab (Opdivo) and ibrutinib (Imbruvica) showed encouraging activity and safety in a small phase II study of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Richter transformation.

Anti-CD22 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy induced an 80% complete remission rate among children and young adults with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

An exploratory subgroup analysis of older patients with high-risk acute myeloid leukemia who took the liposomal formulation CPX-351 (Vyxeos) before allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation demonstrated that the drug improves overall survival and reduces the risk of early death.

Miguel Perales, MD, deputy chief, Adult Bone Marrow Transplant Service, and director, Adult Bone Marrow Transplantation Fellowship Program, gives an overview of the PROGRESS II trial in acute leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome during the ASH Annual Meeting.

The PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab was successfully combined with radiotherapy alone or concurrently with temozolomide for patients with newly-diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme in cohorts 1c and 1d from the phase I CheckMate-143 study. 

The IDH1 inhibitor AG-120 showed promising stable disease rates along with a few minor responses for patients with non-enhancing&nbsp;<em>IDH1</em>-mutated glioma across a variety of doses.&nbsp;

Results from the EF-14 trial which compared standard of care for glioblastoma plus or minus the tumor treating fields.&nbsp;

Treatment with the combination of Optune and temozolomide improved overall survival by 4.8 months compared with temozolomide alone in patients with newly diagnosed glioblastoma multiforme.

Treatment with the PD-1 inhibitor elicited a durable clinical benefit rate of 28% along with a manageable safety profile for patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme that expressed PD-L1 on &ge;1% of cells.

Treatment with the novel regimen of Toca 511 and Toca FC demonstrated a median overall survival of 13.6 months for patients with high-grade gliomas, representing a marked improvement over historical median survivals of 7.2 to 9.2 months.<br /> &nbsp;

An early study has demonstrated signs of clinical efficacy for the combination of the anti-inflammatory agent ibudilast and temozolomide in patient-derived cell lines for glioblastoma multiforme.<br /> &nbsp;

Martin van den Bent, MD, Erasmus MC Cancer Center, discusses the results from the ABT-414 trial for patients with brain cancer.&nbsp;

Howard L. Kaufman, MD, FACS discusses the abstracts chosen for presentation during the Presidential Session of the SITC 31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs.&nbsp;

Joaquim Bellmunt, MD, PhD, attending physician of Solid Tumor Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the impact of the phase III KEYNOTE-045 study, which compared second- or third-line pembrolizumab with investigator-choice chemotherapy as a treatment for patients with metastatic or locally advanced, unresectable urothelial carcinoma. All patients in the study had recurred or progressed following platinum-based chemotherapy.

A number of new clinical and pre-clinical agents currently in development were explored during the SITC 31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs.&nbsp;

Igor Puzanov, MD, professor of oncology, Department of Medicine, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, discusses 2 clinical trials investigating immunotherapy combinations and sequencing in melanoma.

Susan Lutgendorf, PhD, professor, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, The University of Iowa, discusses a study investigating the effects of stress on immune response and tumor microenvironment in ovarian cancer and other cancer types.

Among the new agents currently being explored in clinical trials, NKTR-214 stands out as a new cytokine therapy approach that could show additive benefit when combined with checkpoint inhibitors.&nbsp;