Paul A. Hamlin, MD

Paul A. Hamlin, MD, chief, Basking Ridge Medical Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the importance of the ZUMA-I trial results in the field of B-cell lymphoma.

One of the big stories in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that came out of the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting was the use of CAR T cells. CAR T-cell therapy have been shown to be active in patients with relapsed large cell lymphoma and induce meaningful response rates.

Updated data from the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting showed that patients can achieve durable remissions. This follow-up data, now approaching 1.5 years, is an important landmark in large cell lymphoma. Typically, the first 18 months are when events happen, especially in the upfront setting. In the relapsed setting, it’s even sooner. In the trial, about 30% to 40% of patients who responded to CAR T-cell therapy have maintained their response.

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Dr. Hamlin on the Significance of the ZUMA-I Trial

Paul A. Hamlin, MD, chief of the Medical Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses a phase II study investigating cerdulatinib in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

There is an increasing amount of oral agents that will be available for patients with a good safety margin and the possibility of combinations, states Hamlin.

According to Hamlin, we are entering an era where the understanding of biology will allow us to address the patients

Dr. Hamlin on Key Points of a Study on Cerdulatinib in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Paul A. Hamlin, MD, medical oncologist, chief, Basking Ridge Medical Oncology Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses future potential combination strategies in the mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) landscape.

This is likely where researchers are heading as a field, Hamlin explains. In MCL, the focus has really been in incorporating novel agents into treatment paradigms, as well as challenging whether or not autologous stem cell transplantation needs to be part of an induction regimen or whether or not the novel agents can give patients the same benefit in terms of disease control. Nevertheless, US and European investigators are looking at novel combinations, including a BCL-2 inhibitor plus a BCR inhibitor or PI3K inhibitor.

These are active areas of research, especially with incorporating these agents into a backbone of chemotherapy induction.

Dr. Hamlin on Future Combination Strategies in the MCL Landscape

Paul A. Hamlin, MD, of Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the next steps following a phase I dose-escalation study of buparlisib plus ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), follicular lymphoma (FL), and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

The initial experience as a phase I study has been encouraging, Hamlin explains, especially in the MCL cohort. These are patients with fairly aggressive disease and with blastic features whom experienced prominent responses to the therapy and were durable. It is likely that there will be more options in the future thats attack both processes, he adds.

Researchers already know that ibrutinib is effective as a single agent in MCL; therefore, attacking more than 1 pathway is what likely leads to the more durable responses, he concludes.

Author | Paul A. Hamlin, MD

Articles

Dr. Hamlin on the Significance of the ZUMA-I Trial

Dr. Hamlin on Key Points of a Study on Cerdulatinib in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Dr. Hamlin on Future Combination Strategies in the MCL Landscape

Dr. Hamlin on Next Steps With Ibrutinib/Buparlisib in MCL, FL, and DLBCL