Hematology

During the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition held December 1-4 in San Diego, California, Norman Sharpless, MD, director, National Cancer Institute (NCI), brought attention to several advances made in hematologic malignancies over the past year and highlighted 4 areas of focus going forward.

Ibrutinib-containing regimens have similar overall survival rates but significantly higher progression-free survival (PFS) rates at 2 years compared with bendamustine plus rituximab.

Following failure with ruxolitinib, there are limited treatment options available and among these patients who fail on the treatment, prognosis is unfavorable, particularly among those who started ruxolitinib with advanced stage disease, according to a study presented at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition.

ELOQUENT-3 trial results found that adding elotuzumab to pomalidomide and dexamethasone improved progression-free survival (PFS) and overall response rate in patients with multiple myeloma that had relapsed from or were refractory to (R/R) lenalidomide and a proteasome inhibitor.

According to a study presented at the 60th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition, held December 1-4 in San Diego, California, a World Health Organization–defined diagnosis of primary myelofibrosis may help better identify patients who may need strict monitoring during treatment with ruxolitinib.

Once-daily gilteritinib pills have been approved to treat adult patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with a FLT3 mutation. Approximately 25% to 30% of patients with AML have this mutation, which is associated with an aggressive form of the disease and carries a higher risk of relapse.

In patients who relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem-cell transplantation, the therapeutic benefits that transplantation provide is diminished through mechanisms that remain unclear. A new study analyzed the genetic and epigenetic alterations of leukemic cells to determine any common features of relapse after transplantation

FDA has recently approved 2 new treatments for patients age 75 and older who are newly diagnosed with AML and have other chronic health conditions or diseases that may mean they cannot use intensive chemotherapy.

From December 1-4, hematology professionals from across the globe will convene in San Diego, California for the American Society of Hematology annual meeting to present and discuss their research and latest developments in malignant and non-malignant hematology. Here’s what to look out for during the meeting.

AMT-061, an AAV5 vector containing factor IX (FIX)-Padua variant, has been shown to increase FIX activity to threshold FIX levels sufficient to significantly reduce the risk of bleeding events without the risk of adverse immune reactions.

A new investigational drug has demonstrated high response rates in patients with a rare but highly aggressive blood disease that currently has no approved therapies, according to new research led by investigators at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Since chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is still in early development there are benefits and risks that eligible patients will have to weigh, including the durable response against the limited amount of data and toxic side effects, said Brian Koffman, MDCM, DCFP, DABFM, MS Ed, medical director, CLL Society.

The FDA announced Friday it expanded the approved use of brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) in combination with chemotherapy for adult patients with certain types of peripheral T-cell lymphoma, using a new review process designed to increase efficiency.

When used in combination with rituximab, Hu5F9-G4 (5F9), a humanized monoclonal anti-CD47 antibody, promotes durable objective and complete response rates in lymphoma while also having minimal adverse events (AE), according to a phase 1b study published in New England Journal of Medicine.

Patients with blood cancers are burdened with higher costs than patients with other cancers, and spending in blood cancers does not return to precancer levels, according to a new study from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Daratumumab, a human CD38-directed monoclonal antibody, has been confirmed as safe in a population of heavily pretreated patients with multiple myeloma who received access to the treatment before the medication was commercially available, according to an early access treatment protocol study published in Cancer.

Children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) face an increased risk of obesity and growth impairment from the disease and during ALL treatment, regardless of exposure to cranial irradiation, according to a recent study.

While survival from leukemia improved among adults from 1995 to 2009, and the survival gap between sexes decreased, the racial gap did not, according to new research published in Cancer.

The analysis comes amid a debate set off when CVS Caremark announced that it would allow self-funded insurers to exclude drugs that entered the market above $100,000 per quality-adjusted life year.

In the last decade, testing for and treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) had undergone substantial changes with new testing that can personalize therapy and new agents that provide more clinical benefit.

A life-saving therapy is challenging to administer and poses financial risks for patients and institutions alike. Speakers at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2018 address some approaches to paying for it while CMS develops long-term policies.