Eunice S. Wang, MD, on AML: Gemtuzumab Ozogamicin Plus Standard Induction Chemotherapy Improves Outcomes
2022 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition
Eunice S. Wang, MD, of Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the outcomes of patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who were treated with cytarabine plus daunorubicin plus gemtuzumab ozogamicin (GO). These patients experienced higher rates of measurable residual disease–negative complete remission and complete remission with incomplete count recovery, compared to those treated with cytarabine plus idarubicin daunorubicin alone. Although adding GO was not associated with improved overall survival, longer follow-up is warranted to determine an absolute survival advantage of this regimen (Abstract 58).
The ASCO Post Staff
Tycel J. Phillips, MD, of the City of Hope National Medical Center, discusses data that showed fixed-duration glofitamab monotherapy induced high and durable complete response rates in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who received obinutuzumab pretreatment. This is one of the largest data sets and longest follow-ups reported with a CD20/CD3 bispecific monoclonal antibody for patients with relapsed or refractory MCL (Abstract 74).
The ASCO Post Staff
Stephen M. Ansell, MD, PhD, and Patrizia Mondello, MD, PhD, both of the Mayo Clinic, discuss the 20% of patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) who relapse early and experience a poor prognosis. The researchers found that FLs with high levels of IRF4 expression are associated with a suppressive tumor microenvironment, and selective IRF4 silencing restores antilymphoma T-cell immunity. Further investigation is warranted to identify the mechanisms by which IRF4 controls tumor immunity to develop precision therapies for this population (Abstract 70).
The ASCO Post Staff
Julie Côté, MD, of CHU de Québec–Université Laval, discusses findings from the Canadian Myeloma Research Group database, which showed that integrating bortezomib and lenalidomide into the autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) sequence produces a median overall survival rate ≥ 10 years in most patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma. These observations highlight the contribution of post-ASCT maintenance, particularly lenalidomide given until disease progression, when used in multiple patient groups including those with and without high risk, as well as those requiring a second induction regimen (Abstract 117).
The ASCO Post Staff
Smita Bhatia, MD, MPH, of the Institute for Cancer Outcomes and Survivorship, University of Alabama at Birmingham, discusses study findings that showed key somatic mutations in the peripheral blood stem cell product increases the risk of developing therapy-related myeloid neoplasms (Abstract 119).
The ASCO Post Staff
Eva Hoster, PhD, of Munich University, discusses results from the European MCL Elderly Trial, which confirmed the strong efficacy of rituximab maintenance in minimal residual disease (MRD)-negative patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) after induction. Omitting maintenance based on MRD-negativity is thus discouraged. Considering the short time to progression, more effective treatment strategies should be explored in MRD-positive patients to improve long-term prognosis (Abstract 544).
