Hematologic Oncology

One of the central reasons that curing cancer has been so problematic is the dysfunction of TP53, the single most common genetic alteration in cancer.

While major accomplishments in blood and marrow transplantation (BMT) were being made around the country, the first BMT program at Wake Forest Baptist came into view, a vision brought to life by David D. Hurd, MD.

Anthony S. Stein, MD, professor and staff physician, Hematologic Malignancies and Stem Cell Transplantation Institute, City of Hope, discusses a phase II study examining blinatumomab in relapsed/refractory patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Guiseppe Visani, MD, director, Hematology and Stem Cell Transplant Center at AORMN, Pesaro, Italy, discusses a phase II study examining the efficacy of tosedostat plus low-dose cytarabine in elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

It is obviously impossible to summarize all of the significant data from the 2015 ASH Annual Meeting in this column, but I would like to highlight several key emerging trends that continue to illustrate the palpable ongoing revolution happening in cancer care and beyond.

Yogenthiran Saunthararajah, MD, Department of Hematologic Oncology and Blood Disorders at Cleveland Clinic, professor of Medicine, co-leader, Developmental Therapeutics Program of the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses mechanisms of resistance to 5-azacytidine and decitabine in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes-acute myeloid leukemia.

Monotherapy with blinatumomab demonstrated high complete remission or CR with partial hematological recovery rates in adult patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive and -negative B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Two CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell therapies demonstrated complete response rates ranging from 90% to 100% in patients with high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Updated findings from early stage clinical trials exploring chimeric antigen receptor-modified T-cell therapies continue to highlight the effectiveness of these approaches for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Patients with FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia lived significantly longer when treated with the multikinase inhibitor midostaurin compared with placebo.

David P. Steensma, MD, senior physician, associate professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses a phase III study comparing midostaurin with placebo in combination with daunorubicin cytarabine induction, high-dose cytarabine consolidation, and as maintenance therapy in newly diagnosed patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with FLT3 mutations.

Gene therapy has the potential to deliver long-lasting remissions for patients with advanced B-cell malignancies who already have undergone an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant.

Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, provides an overview of four notable studies being presented at the 2014 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting and Exposition.

Though clinical work is ongoing and early, researchers are already considering how to manage potentially fatal neurotoxicities in patients treated with chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy

Experts discuss developments in CLL, myeloma, and Hodgkin lymphoma.

Ponatinib is effective against the T315I mutation, which is a leading cuase of resistance, and has shown sustainable responses in patients with Ph+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Stephen Grupp, MD, PhD, director of translational research for the center for Childhood Cancer Research at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and medical director of the Stem Cell Laboratory at CHOP, discusses the use of engineered cell therapy for the treatment of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL).

Monoclonal antibodies are poised to revolutionize the treatment of adult patients with relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukemia, specifically blinatumomab and inotuzumab ozogamicin.

Optimizing outcomes with novel antibodies in multiple myeloma will involve combination regimens with established agents.

The European Commission has expanded the approval of azacitidine in acute myeloid leukemia to include patients aged ≥65 years who are ineligible for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and who have >30% myeloblasts.

The prospect of combining PD-1 inhibitors with existing therapies, particularly brentuximab vedotin, is emerging as the most exciting new development in advancing the treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, raising the possibility of improving the cure rates in a disease where standard strategies have already produced notable results.