Leukemia

Adding midostaurin to chemotherapy prolonged survival in younger adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia and a FLT3 mutation, according to a randomized trial.

A de-escalation of tyrosine-kinase inhibitor dose was safe in the majority of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia with stable major molecular response.

Lenalidomide plus rituximab induction therapy followed by maintenance appears to provide favorable activity and a tolerable safety profile in follicular lymphoma patients who are double-refractory or had early relapse after initial diagnosis.

Over recent years, there has been much progress in elucidating the biology of these lymphomas, and this has paved the way for novel therapies that are currently under investigation in clinical trials.

Anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy may benefit patients with aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma who have relapsed or are refractory to standard therapy.

This video examines the targeting of IDH1/IDH2 mutations in patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

Dasatinib was safe and effective in pediatric patients with chronic myeloid leukemia, according to a new study, establishing the agent as a new standard of care for this population.

The novel IDH2-inhibitor enasidenib was well tolerated and offered durable responses in a phase I trial of relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia patients with an IDH2 mutation.

Brentuximab vedotin, a monoclonal antibody-drug conjugate, combined with gemcitabine may be a new treatment option for children and AYAs with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

Despite immune-related adverse events, concurrent ibrutinib and anti-CD19 CAR T-cell therapy may improve response rates in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

A fifth course of cytarabine chemotherapy resulted in improved overall and disease-free survival in pediatric patients with low-risk acute myeloid leukemia.

Researchers are making much-needed progress in developing treatments for patients with three rare malignancies: recurrent and refractory primary central nervous (CNS) system lymphoma, secondary CNS lymphoma, and primary vitreoretinal lymphoma.

Chromosomal abnormalities such as a variant t(9;22) translocation do not appear to have significant prognostic impact on children with chronic myeloid leukemia.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine are reporting that they have successfully converted cells from blood vessels in mice into blood-forming stem cells.

This review will highlight the survival impact that rituximab therapy has had on major lymphoid malignancies, such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, and mantle cell lymphoma. We will also discuss alternative anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies.

Given the benefit of rituximab to patients, it will be important that the use of biosimilar compounds not compromise the efficacy of treatment. However, measures to improve access to anti-CD20 therapy in a cost-effective manner will clearly provide benefit to patients with lymphoma.

There is considerable value in having achieved a minimal residual disease negativity for pediatric and adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Insurance status at the time of chronic myeloid leukemia diagnosis appears to have an influence on survival outcomes, with the uninsured and those on Medicaid having worse overall survival.

Female survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia were at risk for neurocognitive impairment and were more susceptible to the effects of sleep disturbance and fatigue compared with their male counterparts.

A new study is suggesting that intravenous and subcutaneous rituximab share similar efficacy and safety profiles.

On April 28, 2017, the US Food and Drug Administration approved midostaurin (Rydapt) for treating newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia and three types of systemic mastocytosis.

Single-agent use of blinatumomab resulted in anti-leukemic activity in patients with tyrosine kinase inhibitor–relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome positive B-precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Treatment with ponatinib yielded better overall survival compared with allogeneic stem cell transplantation in patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia with a T315I mutation.

Global inequities in childhood leukemia survival have narrowed in recent years but still persist, according to data from CONCORD-2.

Kinase oncoproteins and growth factors both activate the proto-oncogene c-FOS and DUSP1, allowing the persistence of residual leukemia cell populations despite tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Patients with mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue (MALT) lymphoma had improved event-free survival when treated with chlorambucil plus rituximab compared with either therapy alone.

Unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region gene (IGHV) status does not adversely impact survival among ibrutinib-treated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma.

Low pretreatment disease burden improved durability of CAR T-cell therapy in patients with relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Treatment of CML with tyrosine kinase inhibitors including imatinib, nilotinib, and dasatinib can be associated with subclinical pulmonary hypertension.