Nicholas J. Short, MD, on ALL: Ponatinib Plus Blinatumomab May Help Patients Avoid Transplants
2021 ASCO Annual Meeting
Nicholas J. Short, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses early results from a phase II study which showed that combining ponatinib and blinatumomab in patients with Philadelphia chromosome–positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia may prove to be an effective chemotherapy-free regimen that might reduce the need for allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (Abstract 7001).
The ASCO Post Staff
Neeraj Agarwal, MD, of Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah, discusses three studies that examined real-world treatment patterns and utilization of advanced therapies in men with metastatic castration-sensitive prostate cancer, which served to highlight the ways in which Black men may be treated differently (Abstracts 5072, 5073, 5704).
The ASCO Post Staff
Sumanta K. Pal, MD, of City of Hope, discusses results from a phase II study that sought to determine whether adding berzosertib, a selective ATR inhibitor, to the standard upfront chemotherapy regimen of cisplatin with gemcitabine may improve outcomes in patients with metastatic urothelial carcinoma (Abstract 4507).
The ASCO Post Staff
Andrew Tutt, PhD, MBChB, of the Institute of Cancer Research, London, discusses findings from the phase III OlympiA trial, which showed that adjuvant olaparib, a PARP inhibitor, following adjuvant or neoadjuvant chemotherapy, may improve invasive disease–free survival in patients with germline BRCA-mutated and high-risk HER2-negative early breast cancer, which might lead to a new indication in this setting (Abstract LBA1).
The ASCO Post Staff
Brian K. Link, MD, of the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, reviews three abstracts on state-of-the-art therapies for mantle cell lymphoma: bendamustine, rituximab, lenalidomide and bortezomib; treatment patterns and outcomes for previously untreated patients; and venetoclax, lenalidomide, and rituximab in newly diagnosed disease (Abstracts 7503, 7504, and 7505).
The ASCO Post Staff
Brian I. Rini, MD, of Vanderbilt University, discusses findings from KEYNOTE-426, the longest follow-up of a checkpoint inhibitor (pembrolizumab) combined with a VEGF/VEGFR inhibitor (axitinib) for first-line clear cell renal cell carcinoma. The trial results continue to support this combination as a standard of care for patients with previously untreated disease (Abstract 4500).
