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).
Sara Khan, DO, of the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine and HCA Healthcare, discusses her findings showing that women received only 33% of grants from the National Institutes of Health from 2012 to 2022 in nonmalignant hematologic research. Although some agencies have made strides in this area, others continue to have a significant gap. Identifying these areas of gender disparity will enable targeted efforts to bridge this gap and advance gender equality (Abstract 5113).
Michael Wang, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses phase III results from the Sympatico study, which shows the combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax improved progression-free survival vs ibrutinib plus placebo in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma. According to Dr. Wang, these findings demonstrate a favorable benefit-risk profile for ibrutinib plus venetoclax in this patient population (Abstract LBA2).
Harinder Gill, MD, MBBS, of The University of Hong Kong, discusses findings showing the use of an “AAA” regimen (pure oral arsenic trioxide combined with all-trans retinoic acid) in a risk-adapted strategy that minimized chemotherapy was highly effective and safe in patients with newly diagnosed acute promyelocytic leukemia of all risk categories and age groups. However, he cautions, early deaths remain an obstacle to realizing a cure for all with this disease (Abstract 157).
Andrew Srisuwananukorn, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses a novel artificial intelligence model that can distinguish between prefibrotic primary myelofibrosis and essential thrombocythemia. This proposed model may assist clinicians in identifying patients who may benefit from disease-specific therapies or enrollment in clinical trials (Abstract 901).
Mazyar Shadman, MD, MPH, of the University of Washington, discusses new data suggesting that in patients with relapsed large B-cell lymphoma who achieve a complete response, treatment with autologous transplantation may be associated with a lower relapse rate and improved progression-free survival compared with CAR T-cell therapy, including those with early treatment failure (Abstract 781).
