A one-time infusion of an investigational chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy that targets a protein found on most multiple myeloma cells elicited an 86% overall response rate in 21 patients whose disease had come back or had not responded after a median of seven prior treatments,...
Phase III ASPIRE Trial of Carfilzomib in Relapsed Multiple Myeloma Overall survival results from the phase III ASPIRE trial will be detailed for the first time in an oral presentation by Stewart et al on Monday, December 11. The addition of carfilzomib to lenalidomide and...
Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy burst upon the scene as an innovative approach to the treatment of hematologic malignancies, mainly for patients who have exhausted all other treatment options. Recently two CAR T-cell products were approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration...
The roadside along the path to curing follicular lymphoma is riddled with the debris of failed cytotoxic regimens. For decades, clinical trials unsuccessfully pitted various chemotherapy combinations against each other. It took but a single, noncytotoxic molecule, rituximab (Rituxan), to forever...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) presented the 2017 awards for outstanding service and public service on December 10 during the 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta. Tom Brokaw is the 2017 recipient of the ASH Outstanding Service Award, presented annually to an individual who has ...
With the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approvals of two chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell products, this novel approach seems to be moving into the mainstream. The approvals were tisagenlecleucel (also known as CTL019; Kymriah) for the treatment of pediatric B-cell acute...
Over the past 15 years, multiple myeloma has garnered among the highest number of regulatory approvals by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the management of all phases of the disease. This fast-expanding repertoire of treatment options has pushed the median survival of multiple...
In a phase II study reported in Blood Advances, Green et al found that tandem autologous/allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) followed by bortezomib (Velcade) maintenance produced good results in patients with newly diagnosed high-risk multiple myeloma. Poorer outcomes were observed...
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Cancer Research Fund, there is a causal association between a high body mass index (BMI) and 14 cancers, including colorectal, gallbladder, pancreatic, kidney, liver, endometrial, postmenopausal breast, ovarian, gastric...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will honor James R. Downing, MD, of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, with the 2017 E. Donnall Thomas Lecture and Prize for his discoveries related to the hematopathology and molecular biology of childhood leukemia. This lectureship and prize is named...
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY (ASH) will honor Luigi Naldini, MD, PhD, of the San Raffaele Telethon Institute for Gene Therapy in Milan, and Marina Cavazzana, MD, PhD, of Paris Descartes University, Necker-Enfants Malades Hospital, and Imagine Institute of Genetic Diseases, AP-HP, Inserm in...
HERE IS A BRIEF LOOK at the study findings and clinical implications of several recent and important clinical trials in neoplastic hematology. Attention is focused on clonal myeloid disorders, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, lymphoma, and plasma cell dyscrasias. Clonal Myeloid Disorders STUDY:...
THE AMERICAN Society of Hematology (ASH) will present the 2017 William Dameshek Prize to Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, of Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for his seminal discoveries in multiple areas of nonmalignant and malignant hematology....
THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE (NCI) Molecular Analysis for Therapy Choice (MATCH) clinical trial has achieved the goal of screening nearly 6,000 patients in just under 2 years, according to data presented at the 2017 American Association for Cancer Research–NCI–European Organisation for Research...
The treatment paradigm for multiple myeloma has changed dramatically in the past decade with the availability of several efficacious agents in various drug classes. At the National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) 13th Annual Congress: Hematologic Malignancies™, Shaji K. Kumar, MD, Professor...
LOCATION! LOCATION! LOCATION! That’s what home buyers are frequently cautioned about before purchasing a property. For trialists, and more importantly, practicing oncologists, a study’s design, akin to a property’s location, must be taken into account prior to buying into the results and changing ...
On October 23, topline results of the phase III ARROW trial were announced, showing carfilzomib (Kyprolis) administered once weekly at 70 mg/m2 with dexamethasone allowed relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma patients to live 3.6 months longer without their disease worsening than...
Moffitt Cancer Center has made a lasting commitment to the prevention and cure of cancer, working fervently in the areas of patient care, research, and education to advance further in fighting this disease, according to Alan F. List, MD, Moffitt’s President and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. List,...
WITH THE INCLUSION of proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory agents first into salvage and then as components of first-line, consolidation, and maintenance regimens, response rates, depth of response, and median progression-free and overall survival have all improved for patients suffering...
AT A PRESPECIFIED interim analysis, the phase III ENDEAVOR trial has shown a significant overall survival benefit for carfilzomib (Kyprolis) vs bortezomib (Velcade) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, as reported by Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, of the National and Kapodistrian...
Stand Up To Cancer has awarded 10 Stand Up To Cancer Catalyst clinical trial projects in which researchers from more than 30 institutions collaborate across academic and corporate borders on clinical trials studying correlated translational research. The inaugural Stand Up To Cancer Catalyst...
Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk of 13 types of cancer—and these cancers account for about 40% of all cancers diagnosed in the United States in 2014—according to the latest Vital Signs report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Overall, the...
The American Society of Hematology (ASH) will recognize Marshall A. Lichtman, MD, of the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, with the 2017 Wallace H. Coulter Award for Lifetime Achievement in Hematology. Dr. Lichtman will be honored for his notable service to the field of...
AMYLOIDOSIS REMAINS a challenging and nuanced diagnosis. At the 2017 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference, held in Sea Island, Georgia, Jonathan L. Kaufman, MD, discussed his approach to diagnosing amyloid light-chain amyloidosis. Dr. Kaufman is Associate Professor of...
Immune-cell based therapies opening a new frontier for cancer treatment carry unique, potentially lethal side effects that provide a new challenge for oncologists—one addressed by a team led by clinicians at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center with proposed guidelines for...
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network® (NCCN®) has instituted Categories of Preference for recommendations within the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines®). Initially, Categories of Preference will be published for drugs and biologics recommended within...
Due to DNA sequencing, patients with rare cancers for which no standard treatment is available could receive existing therapies that work in patients treated for different cancers but who carry the same genetic mutations. The first results of a multidrug and multitumor clinical trial (Abstract...
Despite a flurry of treatment advances in multiple myeloma over the past decade that have increased overall survival from just 2 to 3 years in the 1990s to between 5 and 7 years today—with some data suggesting an extended life expectancy of between 7 and 10 years1—the cancer remains stubbornly...
Staying up-to-date in the fast-paced world of oncology literature is a daunting task at best. To assist with that task, The ASCO Post has assembled an assortment of studies recently published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. The topics range from therapy for stage IV non–small cell lung cancer...
Researchers are tackling multiple myeloma from many angles, and the result could be a flood of novel approaches soon within the oncologist’s reach, according to Kenneth C. Anderson, MD. At the 2017 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology Conference at Sea Island, Georgia, Dr. Anderson...
As reported by Dimopoulos et al in The Lancet Oncology, a prespecified interim analysis of the phase III ENDEAVOR trial has shown a significant overall survival benefit for carfilzomib (Kyprolis) vs bortezomib (Velcade) in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. Carfilzomib was...
On August 31, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Drug Evaluation and Research Director Janet Woodcock, MD, issued the following statement: “Clinical trials play a critically important role in bringing to market innovative new therapies for patients facing life-threatening...
On August 24, positive topline results were announced from the phase III ALCYONE study of daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with bortezomib (Velcade), melphalan, and prednisone (VMP) vs VMP alone as front-line treatment for newly diagnosed patients who are not considered candidates for...
In a phase II study reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Tzannou et al found that use of off-the-shelf, broad-coverage, adoptively transferred, virus-specific T cells was feasible and effective in treating viral infections in patients who had undergone allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell...
THE ADDITION of daratumumab (Darzalex) to a triplet induction regimen led to good responses in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, but not without toxicities. And in the treatment of myeloma bone disease, denosumab (Xgeva) in place of zoledronic acid preserved renal function and may be associated...
This past fall, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle opened an all-encompassing 9,222-square foot outpatient cellular immunotherapy clinic, specifically designed to serve patients participating in the center’s novel immunotherapy clinical trials, which mainly focus on chimeric...
According to a meta-analysis reported in the Journal of Clinical Oncology by McCarthy et al, lenalidomide (Revlimid) maintenance therapy after autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) was associated with improved progression-free and overall survival vs placebo or observation in patients with...
THE 22ND CONGRESS of the European Hematology Association (EHA) was held in June in Madrid, drawing hematologists and allied professionals from every subspecialty of hematology from around the world. Among the extensive educational and scientific program, the EHA Congress provides a forum for...
A study reported by Moreau et al in the Journal of Clinical Oncology indicated no difference between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron-emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT) in detecting bone lesions at diagnosis in patients with multiple myeloma. PET-CT normalization...
Although I was officially diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 1997, the first sign of the cancer was evident 2 years earlier, when a single lesion (a plasmacytoma) was found in a bone in my lower back. The bone was replaced with two thin stainless steel rods, and after a course of radiation therapy, ...
On July 5, Merck announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has placed a clinical hold on KEYNOTE-183, KEYNOTE-185, and KEYNOTE-023, three combination studies of pembrolizumab (Keytruda), an anti–programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) therapy, in multiple myeloma. This...
HERE ARE SEVERAL ABSTRACTS selected from the proceedings of the 2016 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, highlighting clinical trials on autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation for various hematologic malignancies. Additional selected...
"We are now seeing the merger of immunotherapy with precision medicine. This is the epitome of personalized medicine,” said ASCO-invited expert Michael S. Sabel, MD, Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology at University of Michigan Health Systems, Ann Arbor. He called the effort to target...
Chinese investigators reported that 100% of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma responded to autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, and 14 of 19 (74%) who were followed for a median of 4 months achieved a stringent complete response and have not recurred.1...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of the monoclonal antibody daratumumab -(Darzalex) in combination with pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies including lenalidomide ...
Data from two phase I/II clinical trials evaluating ixazomib (Ninlaro) in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma was presented at the 2017 European Hematology Association (EHA) Annual Meeting (Abstracts S408, S780). Both studies evaluated ixazomib plus lenalidomide (Revlimid) and...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of the monoclonal antibody daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies including lenalidomide...
According to a study by Olszewski and colleagues in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Medicare Part D beneficiaries without a low-income subsidy may face daunting barriers in affording oral immunomodulatory drugs for myeloma. The low-income subsidy markedly reduces out-of-pocket costs for...
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the use of daratumumab (Darzalex) in combination with pomalidomide (Pomalyst) and dexamethasone for the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least two prior therapies including lenalidomide (Revlimid) and a...
Over the past 20 years, the Intergroupe Francophone du Myelome (IFM) and Dr. Michel Attal have pioneered the use of autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation (AHCT) for multiple myeloma in a series of randomized studies. Notable studies include comparisons of planned upfront AHCT vs...