Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, on MDS and Exposure to Agent Orange
ASH 2025
Mikkael Sekeres, MD, MS, Chief, Division of Hematology and Professor of Medicine at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, presents findings from a new study that connects exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange to earlier and more severe cases of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). Researchers concluded that exposure is associated with younger age at MDS diagnosis, ultimate MDS diagnosis, genetic complexity of MDS, increased risk of disease progression, and with Black race (Abstract 5626).
The ASCO Post Staff
Ibrahim Aldoss, MD, of City of Hope, presents findings from a small, single-center study of patients aged 55 years and older with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in first complete remission who were treated with CD19-directed CAR T-cell therapy. Researchers found the therapy was safe, resulted in low-grade adverse events, and led to preliminary durable measurable residual disease response (Abstract 443).
The ASCO Post Staff
Jennifer Woyach, MD, of The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses results from the first head-to-head comparison of pirtobrutinib vs ibrutinib in treatment-naive patients and patients with covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor–naive relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) (Abstract 683).
The ASCO Post Staff
The telomerase inhibitor imetelstat was approved for the treatment of certain patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) based on the results of the phase III IMerge trial. Valeria Santini, MD, of the University of Florence, provides updates on secondary endpoints, including overall and progression-free survival; progression to acute myeloid leukemia; safety; and long-term outcomes by subgroups of interest in IMerge, as well as ad hoc outcomes, including overall survival by response (Abstract 2074).
The ASCO Post Staff
Othman Al-Sawaf, MD, PhD, of the University Hospital of Cologne, presents results from the phase III CLL17 trial, which compared continuous ibrutinib monotherapy to fixed-duration venetoclax plus obinutuzumab to fixed-duration venetoclax plus ibrutinib for previously untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) (Abstract 1).
The ASCO Post Staff
Aaron Logan, MD, PhD, of UCSF Health, discusses research examining the effect of transplant before or after treatment with brexucabtagene autoleucel in the real world for adult patients with relapsed or refractory Philadelphia chromosome–negative B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (Abstract 516).
