Romanos Sklavenitis-Pistofidis, MD, on Smoldering Myeloma: Identifying Biomarkers of Response to Immunotherapy
2021 ASH Annual Meeting & Exposition
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
Masayuki Umeda, MD, of St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, discusses his research which showed that UBTF-TD (upstream binding transcription factor-tandem duplications) define a unique subtype of acute myeloid leukemia that previously lacked a clear oncogenic driver. UBTF-TD is associated with FLT3-ITD and WT1 mutations, adolescent age, and poor outcomes. These alterations are critical for future risk-stratification for this patient cohort.
The ASCO Post Staff
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
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
Anil Aktas-Samur, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses study findings on the genomic characterization of non-progressor smoldering multiple myeloma, results that may provide a molecular definition of the disease as well as its risk-driving features. Combining this low-risk model with current high-risk models may possibly improve clinical trials for patients with this early precursor to myeloma (Abstract 545).
The ASCO Post Staff
Tycel Phillips, MD, of the Rogel Cancer Center, University of Michigan, discusses phase II findings from the CITADEL-204 study of parsaclisib, a next-generation inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase. The agent, used as a monotherapy, appeared to benefit patients with relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma who had a rapid and durable clinical response (Abstract 44).
