Hematologic Oncology

The combination of carfilzomib (Kyprolis), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and low-dose dexamethasone extended progression-free survival (PFS) by 8.7 months compared with lenalidomide and dexamethasone alone for patients with relapsed multiple myeloma

The FDA has expanded the approval of ibrutinib to include the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who have received at least one previous therapy and harbor a 17p deletion.

Joseph M. Flynn, DO, MPH, co-director, Division of Hematology; co-director, LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence; medical director, James Survivorship Clinics, The Ohio State University, James Cancer Hospital, discusses the impact ibrutinib has had on treating hematologic malignancies.

In the first pivotal phase III study of a Janus-associated kinase (JAK) inhibitor for the treatment of polycythemia vera (PV), ruxolitinib (Jakafi) was superior to best available therapy (BAT) in maintaining control of hematocrit without the need for phlebotomy and in reducing spleen size in patients with an inadequate response to or intolerance of hydroxyurea.

The FDA has approved idelalisib in combination with rituximab for patients with high-risk relapsed or refractory CLL and as a single-agent for two types of iNHL.

The ASCO annual meeting is always a time of excitement for the nearly 30,000 clinicians and scientists who gather every year to see "what's new."

An early study presented at the 2014 AACR Annual Meeting showed promise for a new targeted therapy for acute myeloid leukemia

Joseph Flynn, DO, MPH, focuses on the development of novel therapeutics for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in his research at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center.

The investigational CD19-targeted CAR therapy CTL019 has received a breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA as a potential treatment for pediatric and adult patients with relapsed/refractory ALL.

The FDA has approved belinostat for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma.

Preliminary evidence supports the use of bromodomain inhibitors in hematologic malignancies, including acute leukemia (mainly acute myelogenous leukemia) and other hematological malignancies, including diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma.

The FDA has granted a breakthrough therapy designation to blinatumomab for the treatment of adult patients with Philadelphia-negative relapsed/refractory B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)

Ofatumumab (Arzerra) failed to meet its primary endpoint of improvement in progression-free survival (PFS) in a phase III study of the drug versus physicians' choice for bulky fludarabine-refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL),

The measurement of response to anticancer therapy has evolved over the years as a result of better therapies and progress in imaging.

Kenneth R. Carson, MD, assistant professor, Division of Oncology, Washington University, discusses mogamulizumab as a potential treatment for patients with relapsed or refractory cutaneous T cell lymphoma (CTCL).

Catherine M. Diefenbach, MD, assistant professor, medicine (hematology and medical oncology), Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, explains antibody drug conjugates (ADCs)

The frontline treatment of patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive (Ph+) chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) continues to be debated as imatinib (Gleevec) rapidly approaches the end of its patent protection and next-generation agents continue to show efficacy in clinical trials.

At the recent National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) 19th Annual Conference, experts discussed this year's updates to the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology. The meeting also included reviews of NCCN Task Force reports on issues in supportive care. We asked eleven NCCN panel members to select the most significant updates and insights presented at the conference.

The novel agents idelalisib and ABT-199 in combination with rituximab have demonstrated impressive activity with manageable toxicity for patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

John C. Byrd, MD, from The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the promising findings from the phase III RESONATE trial that compared ofatumumab to ibrutinib in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Treatment with single-agent ibrutinib dramatically increased PFS by nearly 80% and significantly extended OS by 57% compared with ofatumumab in patients with relapsed or refractory CLL.

Having a robust armamentarium to treat childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a major triumph in oncology.

Although many patients with cancer now receive chemotherapy as outpatients, most cancer treatment centers do not extend this practice to patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or advanced myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who are receiving initial intensive induction therapy.

Two recently published clinical studies demonstrated a strong association between higher levels of vitamin D and improved outcomes among patients with various cancers.

A phase III study exploring the chemotherapy regimen DHAP plus ofatumumab failed to meet its primary endpoint of prolongation in PFS when compared with DHAP plus rituximab for patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL.