Hematologic Oncology

Two clinical trials evaluating blinatumomab compared with chemotherapy in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia were stopped early due to treatment benefit with the bispecific T-cell engager.

John M. Timmerman, MD, discusses the research being conducted across the spectrum of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Matthew G. Mei, MD, discusses current considerations in the frontline management of advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma as well as ongoing investigations with checkpoint inhibitors and cellular-based therapy.

Kanwarpal S. Kahlon, MD, discusses current treatment options for patients with aplastic anemia, immune thrombocytopenic purpura, and thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, as well as future research for the field.

The addition of the antibody-drug conjugate brentuximab vedotin and the PD-1 inhibitor nivolumab to chemotherapy in patients with stage I/II Hodgkin lymphoma is under investigation in an ongoing phase II trial (NCT03233347).

Bijal D. Shah, MD, associate professor, Department of Malignant Hematology, Moffitt Cancer Center, discusses the use of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

The European Medicines Agency’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of gilteritinib as a single agent for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia who have FLT3 mutations.

Gary J. Schiller, MD, discusses therapeutic advances, the importance of genomic testing, and other agents in the pipeline for acute myeloid leukemia.

Christopher S. Seet, MD, PhD, discusses elements of treatment discontinuation in chronic myeloid leukemia.

Christopher S. Seet, MD, PhD, hematologist and oncologist, UCLA, discusses aspects of treatment discontinuation in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Although several newer JAK inhibitors are being investigated, such as pacritinib, momelotinib, and the recently FDA-approved fedratinib, most combinations are being explored in combination with ruxolitinib.

Jorge J. Castillo, MD, clinical director, Bing Center for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia, physician, associate professor of medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the results of a multicenter, prospective, phase II study of venetoclax in patients with previously treated Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia.

The rise of oral targeted therapies and novel combinations is transforming the paradigm for the frontline treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia regardless of age, and ongoing phase III trials are likely to generate more modifications.

Laura C. Michaelis, MD, discusses the currently approved JAK inhibitors and the future landscape for myelofibrosis, as well as treatment considerations for graft-versus-host disease.

Early results from a prospective postmarketing assessment showed that tisagenlecleucel induced responses similar to those seen in pivotal trials for children and adolescents with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia and adults with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Basem William, MD, MRCP, FACP, discusses the preliminary results of the phase II trial of brentuximab vedotin and lenalidomide in relapsed/refractory cutaneous and peripheral T-cell lymphomas.

Jason Westin, MD, discusses patient responses with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in the JULIET trial who were treated with tisagenlecleucel.

Tisagenlecleucel maintained strong rates of response and duration of response in adults with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, according to the latest findings from the phase II JULIET study presented at the 2019 SOHO Annual Meeting.

John F. DiPersio, MD, PhD, discusses the challenges in research surrounding targeted cellular therapies for acute myeloid leukemia

The use of checkpoint inhibitors prior to haploidentical stem cell transplantation improved progression-free survival and reduced the risk for relapse for patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, according to results from a retrospective study presented at the 2019 SOHO Annual Meeting.