Leukemia

A study covering 4 decades of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia in Sweden found dramatic improvements in life expectancy since the advent of tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy.

Similar survival outcomes were seen in lymphoma patients who underwent related donor haploidentical HCT and HLA-matched sibling donor transplant.

The anti-CCR4 antibody mogamulizumab showed promising response rates compared to investigator’s choice in a randomized phase II trial of relapsed/refractory adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma.

Researchers published a study June 12, 2016, in the online issue of The New England Journal of Medicine that suggests progression-free survival and overall survival may both be longer with inotuzumab ozogamicin in ALL.

Patients with HIV-related lymphoma who underwent autologous hematopoietic cell transplant had good survival at 1 year, similar to patients without HIV.

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia who are treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors could be at increased risk of long-term cardiovascular toxicity.

Two studies show that early deep responses with TKIs yield lasting positive outcomes in CML patients, and that dasatinib outperforms imatinib.

The aim of this review is to summarize the current knowledge on HSCT in CLL and to discuss critically its role in the age of novel treatment strategies.

With novel therapeutic agents, is allogeneic HSCT an archaic intervention for patients with CLL?

Crenolanib, a type I pan FLT3 inhibitor, had activity in a group of patients with FLT3-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML), including a number of patients with FLT3 D835 mutations.

New research has shown that a higher dose of CTL019 with split dosing was associated with reduced toxicity in adult patients with relapsed, refractory CD19-positive ALL.

CPX-351, a liposomal formulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin, improved event-free survival, overall survival, and response compared with a traditional dose of cytarabine/daunorubicin in older patients with high-risk secondary acute myeloid leukemia.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a clonal myeloproliferative disorder resulting from the neoplastic transformation of the primitive hematopoietic stem cell.

Researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine recently published a study in Nature Communications explaining that the rate at which genetically mutated cancer cells grow may help explain why some CLL patients develop treatment resistance.

A 5-year analysis of the DASISION trial showed that dasatinib continued to offer better responses than imatinib in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted accelerated approval of nivolumab (Opdivo) based on overall response rate (ORR) in classical Hodgkin lymphoma patients.

A phase II study of the BCL2 inhibitor venetoclax has shown that a large majority of patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia responded to treatment with the drug.

The early 21st century has brought with it significant improvements in survival from most common hematologic malignancies for patients aged 65 years or older, but these increases still lag behind those of 50- to 59-year-olds.

Chronic myeloid leukemia patients had a significantly increased prevalence of prior malignancies and autoimmune disorders compared with the general population.

Blood transfusions play a key role in managing complications of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), involving unique blood product strategies.

The addition of pegylated interferon-ɑ2b to dasatinib yielded promising results in a small trial of newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia patients.

Genentech and Astex Pharmaceuticals will collaborate in a clinical trial of a combination hypomethylating and immune checkpoint blockade therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

The efficacy of ponatinib in patients with newly diagnosed CML compared with imatinib remains to be established, as a randomized phase III trial was terminated early due to concerns regarding arterial occlusive events with ponatinib.

We review here the state of the art of diagnosis and treatment of AML and provide insights into the emerging novel biomarkers and therapeutic agents that are anticipated to be useful for the implementation of personalized medicine in AML.

Recent advances in mantle cell lymphoma include: (1) identification of new pathways to target, (2) novel therapeutics to treat patients with relapsed/refractory disease, and (3) monitoring of minimal residual disease and adoption of a maintenance therapy approach to prevent relapses post induction or post stem cell transplantation.

Receipt of EBRT for CTCL varies by sociodemographic factors and the centers where patients receive their care. Among those receiving EBRT, there are variations in dose, and median survival may vary by race. Further research is needed to assess differences in receipt, outcomes, and dose.

A rapid reduction in BCR-ABL transcript levels and the halving time of those levels are predictive of better outcomes in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.

Overall, the future of patients with MCL is promising, since therapeutic options have widened. The implementation of universal aggressive treatment is challenged by novel regimens, targeted agents, the use of MRD to guide treatment decisions, and new trials that will directly compare transplant vs non-transplant approaches.

We are ready to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” approach in AML and join our colleagues treating other malignancies, such as lung cancer, in moving towards a personalized medicine approach.

On April 11, 2016, The US Food and Drug Administration approved a new agent for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.