Mikkael A. Sekeres, MD, of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, reviews key abstracts from ASH 2023 on treatment of myelofibrosis, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, large B-cell lymphoma, and acute myeloid leukemia (Abstracts 620, 631, 781, 425).
Adam S. Kittai, MD, of The Ohio State University, discusses his data supporting the use of CAR T-cell therapy for patients with Richter’s transformation. Given the high response rate to CD19 CAR T-cell treatment, along with early relapse in most patients, allogeneic stem cell transplantation at response should also be considered, he says (Abstract 108).
Pieter Sonneveld, MD, PhD, of the Netherland’s Erasmus MC Cancer Institute, discusses primary results from the Perseus trial, showing that for patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are eligible for transplantation, the combination of daratumumab plus bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone, followed by daratumumab and lenalidomide maintenance, may be a new standard of care (Abstract LBA1).
Sarah C. Rutherford, MD, of Weill Cornell Medicine, discusses findings of the SWOG S1826 study, which showed nivolumab plus AVD (doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine) improved progression-free and event-free survival and seemed to be better tolerated than brentuximab vedotin plus AVD in patients aged 60 and older with advanced-stage Hodgkin lymphoma (Abstract 181).
William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses results from the phase I/II BRUIN study, which shows encouraging response and overall survival in patients with Richter transformation. Although this condition remains a challenging diagnosis, pirtobrutinib represents a potential treatment option that warrants further investigation, according to Dr. Wierda (Abstract 1737).
Jennifer A. Woyach, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses phase I/II findings of the BRUIN study on the use of pirtobrutinib after covalent Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). The results suggest that continuing BTK pathway inhibition following a covalent BTK inhibitor may be an important sequencing approach to consider in the treatment of CLL/SLL (Abstract 325).
