2020 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition
B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: Update on Clinical Trials
“Learning never exhausts the mind.” —Leonardo da Vinci To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, ...
Bispecific Antibody Platform: Early Data in Relapsed and Refractory Myeloma
“There was never a night or a problem that could defeat sunrise or hope.” —Bernard Williams To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (...
Study Finds Tranexamic Acid Unable to Prevent Bleeding in Patients With Hematologic Malignancies
In the first randomized trial to evaluate prophylactic antifibrinolytic therapy in patients with hematologic malignancies, tranexamic acid failed to reduce bleeding or the need for transfusion vs plac...
Belantamab Mafodotin-blmf Plus Pomalidomide and Dexamethasone Elicits Responses in Myeloma
Belantamab mafodotin-blmf combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone led to a very good partial response or better in approximately three-quarters of patients with multiple myeloma that was double-c...
Studies Provide Guidance on the Use of Blinatumomab in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Monotherapy with blinatumomab as consolidation therapy before allogeneic stem cell transplant appears to be the optimal treatment for children with high-risk first-relapse B-cell precursor acute lymph...
Novel Therapies Under Study in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia
“There is progress whether ye are going forward or backward! The thing is to move.” —Edgar Cayce To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematolo...
In Case You Missed It: Brief Highlights From ASH 2020
In case you missed these while attending the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, below is a sampler of highlights that were not included in our first round of m...
SIMPLIFY Trials: JAK Inhibitor Yields Long-Term Survival Benefit and Transfusion Independence in Myelofibrosis
Treatment with the novel JAK inhibitor momelotinib led to long-term overall survival and sustained transfusion independence in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis, according to upda...
Novel Approaches in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting pr...
B-Cell and T-Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphomas
To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, here are several abstracts selected from the meeting pr...
Ruxolitinib Improves Outcomes in Steroid-Refractory or Steroid-Dependent Graft-vs-Host Disease
Ruxolitinib was superior to best available therapy in achieving efficacy as determined by best overall response and duration of response, with acceptable safety in adolescents and adults with steroid-...
Transplant May Improve Survival in Older Patients With High-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome
Stem cell transplants are not frequently offered to older patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). According to a study from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BM...
DREAMM-2 Analysis: Number of Prior Treatments No Hindrance to Efficacy of Belantamab Mafodotin-blmf
A post hoc analysis of the phase II DREAMM-2 trial showed single-agent belantamab mafodotin-blmf to be efficacious and tolerable in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma treated with a...
Belantamab Mafodotin-blmf Plus Pomalidomide and Dexamethasone Elicits Responses in Myeloma
Belantamab mafodotin-blmf combined with pomalidomide and dexamethasone led to a very good partial response (VGPR) or better in approximately three-quarters of patients with multiple myeloma that was d...
Expert Point of View: Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP
Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, FACP, Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University and Medical Director, Winship Research Informatics Shared Resource at Winship Cancer Institute,...
New Targets Explored for Bispecific T-Cell–Engaging Antibodies in Myeloma
B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is the most frequent target of immunotherapies in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, but bispecific T-cell–engaging antibodies with novel targets are also achiev...
Expert Point of View: Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP
Sagar Lonial, MD, FACP, the Anne and Bernard Gray Family Chair in Cancer, Chair and Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, commented on the APOLLO ...
Subcutaneous Daratumumab Meets Primary Endpoint in APOLLO Trial in Myeloma
The first phase III study to evaluate the subcutaneous form of daratumumab has met its primary endpoint, investigators of the APOLLO trial reported at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Ann...
Treatment With LOXO-305 Results in Durable Efficacy in Heavily Pretreated Patients With CLL/SLL
Despite the marked efficacy of ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, and venetoclax in chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL), treatment failure can occur through the development of res...
Expert Point of View: Marco Ruella, MD
Marco Ruella, MD, of Perelman School of Medicine and Scientific Director of the Lymphoma Program, University of Pennsylvania, commented on this study on CD58 aberrations: “This is a very important stu...
Expert Point of View: James Essell, MD
James Essell, MD, Medical Director of the Blood Cancer Center, The Jewish Hospital-Mercy Health Cincinnati Cancer and Cellular Therapy Center, and Chair of Cellular Therapy, observed that axicabtagene...
ZUMA-5: Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Elicits Response in Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
In the phase II ZUMA-5 trial, the cellular immunotherapy axicabtagene ciloleucel led to responses in 92% of patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), researchers reported at the 2020 American...
Study Finds Survival Disparities and Mutational Differences for Black Patients Younger Than 60 With AML
It has been well documented that, collectively, Black individuals have the highest death rates and shortest survival of any racial/ethnic group in the United States for most cancers. Black men also ha...
Expert Point of View: David Snyder, MD
David Snyder, MD, Acting Chair, City of Hope Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, Duarte, California, who was not involved in the ASCEMBL study, commented on the promise ...
Study Finds Asciminib Safer, More Effective Than Bosutinib in Chronic-Phase CML
Since the introduction of imatinib almost 18 years ago, similar next-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been approved for chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), including dasatinib, nilotinib, bosuti...
ASH 2020 Meeting Highlights
The world of hematologic malignancies continues to move forward at a robust pace despite the challenges of the COVID era. Although some areas of clinical trials and basic research suffered short-term ...
SIMPLIFY Trials: JAK Inhibitor Yields Long-Term Survival Benefit and Transfusion Independence in Myelofibrosis
Treatment with the novel JAK inhibitor momelotinib led to long-term overall survival and sustained transfusion independence in patients with intermediate- or high-risk myelofibrosis, according to upda...
Novel Insights Into Multiple Myeloma
“Knowledge has a beginning but no end.” —Geeta Iyengar To complement The ASCO Post’s continued comprehensive coverage of the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, ...
COVID Virus–Specific T Cells: Potential Treatment of Severe COVID-19 Infection Under Study
It may be possible to exploit T cells from healthy volunteers who have recovered from COVID-19 as a treatment for this viral infection. Researchers at the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor Co...
Expert Point of View: Deepa Jagadeesh, MD, MPH
In commenting on the results of the phase II PRIMO trial of the PI3K inhibitor duvelisib by Pro et al, Deepa Jagadeesh, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Lymph...
Phase II PRIMO Dose-Optimization Trial of Duvelisib in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma
Researchers at the ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition reported high response rates in patients with relapsed peripheral T-cell lymphoma after treatment with single-agent duvelisib, a dual PI3K inhibito...
Expert Point of View: Deepa Jagadeesh, MD, MPH
“Although some B-cell lymphomas are highly curable, this goal remains elusive for most T-cell lymphomas (TCL). Refractory and relapsed disease post induction therapy remains a major challenge in manag...
Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplant Improves Survival in Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma
In a large retrospective analysis of allogeneic transplant for relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL), more than half the patients studied were alive at 5 years, investigators report...
Expert Point of View: James Essell, MD
James Essell, MD, Medical Director of the Blood Cancer Center, The Jewish Hospital-Mercy Health Cincinnati Cancer and Cellular Therapy Center, and Chair of Cellular Therapy, observed that axicabtagene...
ZUMA-5: Axicabtagene Ciloleucel Elicits Response in Indolent Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
In the phase II ZUMA-5 trial, the cellular immunotherapy axicabtagene ciloleucel led to responses in 92% of patients with indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), researchers reported at the 2020 American...
MURANO Trial: Venetoclax Plus Rituximab Achieves Durable Progression-Free Survival in Resistant CLL
Patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with the combination of fixed-duration venetoclax/rituximab had a longer overall survival and progression-free survival ...
Early Research Explores Relationship Between CD58 Loss and Resistance to CAR T-Cell Therapies
Engineering chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells to overcome CD58 loss may be a way to boost responses in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who do not respond to treatment with ax...
Expert Point of View: Sagar Lonial, MD, and Adam D. Cohen, MD
The studies of ALLO-715 “off-the-shelf” CAR T-cell therapy and bb21217 impressed two experts in the field. Sagar Lonial, MD, the Anne and Bernard Gray Family Chair in Cancer, Chair and Professor of He...
Novel Anti-BCMA CAR T-Cell Therapies Show Activity in Myeloma
In the treatment of relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies with unique characteristics, still targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), are looking...
Expert Point of View: Marlise Luskin, MD
Commenting on this trial, Marlise Luskin, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, explained that the treatment of AML in older adults remains a particular challenge for leukemia clinicians. “Alth...
Oral Azacitidine Is Noninferior to Placebo for Health-Related Quality of Life in AML
Health-related quality of life was sustained in patients taking oral azacitidine (also known as CC-486) compared with placebo in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to results of the...
Expert Point of View: Suzanne Lentzsch, MD, PhD
IFM 2009 showed that autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) combined with lenalidomide, bortezomib, and dexamethasone (RVd) results in a significantly better progression-free survival than RVd alone i...
Long-Term Follow-up of IFM 2009 Confirms Benefit of Front-Line Transplant in Myeloma
The benefit of autologous transplantation in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma has been confirmed by follow-up of the IFM 2009 trial, reported at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Me...
Belantamab Mafodotin-blmf in Multiple Myeloma: Number of Prior Treatments No Hindrance to Efficacy
A post hoc analysis of the phase II DREAMM-2 trial showed single-agent belantamab mafodotin-blmf to be efficacious and tolerable in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma treated with ...
Expert Point of View: Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH
Ajay K. Nooka, MD, MPH, Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University and Medical Director, Winship Research Informatics Shared Resource at Winship Cancer Institute, Atlan...
New Targets Explored for Bispecific T-Cell–Engaging Antibodies in Myeloma
B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) is the most frequent target of immunotherapies in relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, but bispecific T-cell–engaging (BiTE) antibodies with novel targets are also...
Expert Point of View: Sagar Lonial, MD
Sagar Lonial, MD, the Anne and Bernard Gray Family Chair in Cancer, Chair and Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, commented on the APOLLO trial ...
Subcutaneous Daratumumab Meets Primary Endpoint in APOLLO Trial in Myeloma
The first phase III study to evaluate the subcutaneous form of daratumumab has met its primary endpoint, investigators of the APOLLO trial reported at the 2020 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Ann...
Sara Zarnegar-Lumley, MD, on AML: Prognostic Effects of IDH Mutations
Sara Zarnegar-Lumley, MD, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center, discusses an analysis of a large cohort confirming the age-associated prevalence of IDH mutations in patients, across the age spectru...
Lena E. Winestone, MD, MSHP, on Health-Care Disparities in Hematologic Cancers: Real-World Data
Lena E. Winestone, MD, MSHP, of the University of California, San Francisco and Benioff Children’s Hospital, reviews different aspects of bias in treatment delivery, including patient selection for cl...
