Michael R. Bishop, MD, on Aggressive B-Cell NHL: Tisagenlecleucel vs Standard of Care as Second-Line Therapy
2021 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition
Michael R. Bishop, MD, of the University of Chicago, discusses insights from findings of the phase III BELINDA study, which may inform the design of future CAR T-cell trials, as well as the use of second-line tisagenlecleucel therapy in patients with relapsed or refractory aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (Abstract LBA-6).
The ASCO Post Staff
Talha Badar, MD, of the Mayo Clinic, discusses the near-universal poor outcomes for patients with TP53-mutated acute myeloid leukemia and the findings that show allogeneic stem cell transplantation appears to improve the long-term survival in a subset of these patients. Effective therapies may successfully bridge patients to transplant and prolong survival for those who are transplant-ineligible (Abstract 797).
The ASCO Post Staff
Romanos Sklavenitis-Pistofidis, MD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses study findings on a next generation of clinical assays to assess both tumor biology and immune state, as well as common clinical biomarkers in the marrow or blood. These biomarkers may accurately predict which patients with smoldering multiple myeloma might benefit from early treatment, monitor response to immunotherapy, and improve patient outcomes (Abstract 330).
The ASCO Post Staff
Nikhil C. Munshi, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the findings from a large nationwide Veterans Affairs study, which showed that, for patients with multiple myeloma, the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccine is reduced, likely due to patients’ immunosuppression. Dr. Munshi describes what next steps should be taken (Abstract 400).
The ASCO Post Staff
Sangeetha Venugopal, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses a retrospective analysis of 562 patients with treated secondary acute myeloid leukemia and prior exposure to hypomethylating agents (HMAs). The results showed that an HMA plus venetoclax yielded significantly higher overall response rates and improved overall survival compared with intensive chemotherapy or low-intensity chemotherapy, particularly in patients 60 years or older who had a karyotype without adverse risk (Abstract 794).
The ASCO Post Staff
Alba Rodriguez-Meira, DPhil, of the University of Oxford, discusses a comprehensive analysis of the genetic, cellular, and molecular landscape of TP53-mediated transformation, providing insights into the evolution of chronic hematologic malignancies toward an aggressive acute leukemia. Because TP53 is the most commonly mutated gene in human cancer, these findings may well be of broad relevance (Abstract 3).
