Hematologic Oncology

In leukemias, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) can play a role in cancer cell maturation and can be both pro- and antiapoptotic.

Several anti-malarial and anti-fungal drugs might be able to overcome a previously unexploited mechanism that allows some leukemia cells to escape programmed cell death.

A supplemental New Drug Application has been submitted to the US Food and Drug Administration for marginal zone lymphoma (MZL), and if approved, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) will be the first therapy specifically approved for patients with MZL.

It turns out that CAR T cells can do more than directly attack cancer cells. They can be used as “micro-pharmacies” for precise therapeutic delivery in B-cell lymphomas.

Adding daratumumab to lenalidomide and dexamethasone significantly improved progression-free survival in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Development of targeted therapies for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) represents an ongoing challenge for the field. There is substantial promise, however, in several different approaches to targeted AML therapy, including IDH inhibitors, FLT3 inhibitors, and others.

The STIM1 study shows that patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who have undetectable minimal residual disease can safely discontinue imatinib therapy.

Clinicians and patients now have several options for frontline management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia; exactly which option is preferred remains up for debate.

Helping patients through toxicities and discomfort from multiple myeloma and its therapies remains a challenge and must be addressed with supportive care practices.

The 5-year survival rate for relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia has been below 10%. Immunotherapies, however, are starting to challenge that paradigm.

Because of the high cure rate in early-stage classical Hodgkin lymphoma, reducing toxicity is a primary concern. One idea for doing so is a subject of ongoing research: is elimination of all radiotherapy in many of these patients a possibility?

As more and more new options come on the market, integrating them into proper management of multiple myeloma has become an important challenge.

The idea of determining the “cell of origin” in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, and using it as a prognostic indicator or to guide treatment, remains somewhat controversial, but is there now a way that the cell of origin can be used?

In this interview we discuss the different types of T-cell lymphomas and how supportive care is used in the management of these malignancies.

In this video we discuss the initial symptoms and diagnosis of multiple myeloma as well as upfront treatment with autologous stem cell transplantation and newer agents.

In this video we discuss the goals of shared-decision making in hematologic malignancies and touch upon different scenarios where its use may be appropriate.

In this interview we discuss symptoms and prognosis for patients with polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia and the treatment of myelofibrosis.

Phase II data provide further evidence that patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia with 17p deletion have a new treatment option with ibrutinib.

The monoclonal antibody rituximab (Rituxan) improves event-free survival (EFS) among adults with CD20-positive B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), according to authors of a phase III clinical trial conducted in France and Switzerland.

The combination of dasatinib (Sprycel) and venetoclax (Venclexta) may have the potential to improve the treatment of Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ALL), according to Oregon researchers.

A study found that the protein EZH2 is required for chronic myeloid leukemia initiating cells to survive. Inhibiting EZH2 could improve outcomes in TKI-resistant disease.

Patients with Hodgkin lymphoma have a high incidence of severe acute and persistent fatigue, regardless of their tumor stage or the treatment method chosen for their disease.

This review discusses the mechanisms of action, clinical development, and emerging applications of small-molecule inhibitors that target B-cell receptor signaling pathways, B-cell lymphoma-2 inhibitors, selective inhibitors of nuclear export, and epigenetic modifiers.

Prior to the advent of targeted therapies, there were few options other than chemotherapy for the treatment of patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas or chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Combining venetoclax (Venclexta, AbbVie and Genentech) plus a tyrosine kinase inhibitor targeting the BCR-ABL oncogene can eradicate chronic myeloid leukemia stem cells in a mouse model of the disease.

Use of lenalidomide monotherapy in patients with adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma resulted in clinically meaningful antitumor activity, with 42% of phase II trial participants having objective responses.

Many adolescent girls with leukemia did not receive pregnancy screening before undergoing teratogenic exposure.

Genmab recently announced that the US Food and Drug Administration has approved ofatumumab (Arzerra®) combined with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC) for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The addition of carfilzomib to lenalidomide and dexamethasone improved health-related quality of life compared with treatment with lenalidomide/dexamethasone alone among patients with relapsed multiple myeloma enrolled in the ASPIRE trial.

Dr. Amitkumar Mehta talks about the various effects of daratumumab on multiple myeloma cells.