Hematologic Oncology

Tyrosine-kinase inhibitors have considerably improved survival outcomes for patients with Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

As with software upgrades, Carl H. June, MD, sees his work in cancer research as a job with ever-evolving updates.

The FDA has granted a full approval and label update to ponatinib for patients with chronic phase, accelerated phase, or blast phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) or Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL) for whom no other tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy is indicated, as well as for patients with T315I-positive CML or T315I-positive Ph+ ALL.

Eytan M. Stein, MD, internist, hematologic oncologist, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses some of the potential combinations that could be explored with novel agents in the treatment of patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

For a second time, a clinical hold has been placed on the phase II ROCKET study exploring the CD19-targeted CAR T-cell therapy JCAR015 for adult patients with relapsed or refractory B cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A clinical trial that utilizes a novel radiolabeled antibody–drug conjugate to pretreat older patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia as part of a stem cell transplantation regimen is aimed at creating improved outcomes for a high-risk population with limited therapeutic alternatives.

The European Commission has approved nivolumab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous stem cell transplant and treatment with brentuximab vedotin.

Investigators are exploring therapy options for patients with indolent lymphomas—including follicular lymphoma, marginal zone lymphoma, and small lymphocytic lymphoma—as rituximab regimens are proving to not be a long-term option for many patients.

The FDA granted a priority review to a new drug application for midostaurin (PKC412) for adult patients with newly diagnosed FLT3-mutated acute myeloid leukemia or advanced systemic mastocytosis.

Nivolumab (Opdivo) may be the only checkpoint inhibitor that is approved by the FDA as a treatment of patients with Hodgkin lymphoma, but other immunotherapies—alone and in combination with other novel agents—are emerging in other indications.

Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) has received an FDA breakthrough therapy designation for the treatment of patients with CD30-positive mycosis fungoides or primary cutaneous anaplastic large cell lymphoma following at least 1 prior systemic therapy.

The FDA has approved Mylotarg (gemtuzumab ozogamicin) for the treatment of adults with newly diagnosed CD33-positive acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Thomas E. Witzig, MD, hematologist-oncologist, Mayo Clinic, discusses some of the emerging agents being utilized in the treatment of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

Madeleine Duvic, MD, professor of Medicine and Dermatology, Blanche Bender Professorship in Cancer Research, director of the Research Fellowship Program, Department of Dermatology, Division of Internal Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the importance of classifying T-cell lymphomas and new targets in development. Duvic shared this insight during the 2016 OncLive State of the Science Summit on Hematologic Malignancies.

Guillermo Garcia-Manero, MD, professor of Medicine, chief, Section of Myelodysplastic Syndromes, in the Department of Leukemia, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the potential of curing patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Garcia-Manero explained this reasoning in an interview during the 2016 OncLive State of the Science Summit on Treatment of Hematologic Malignancies.

When envisioning the future treatment paradigms for myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia, researchers predict that hypomethylating agents, immunotherapies, and multikinase and BCL-2 inhibitors are just a few examples of what the field can expect in the coming years.

Elias Jabbour, MD, an associate professor in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses recent treatment advances and emerging subsets in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).

Novel agents being explored in the landscape of both peripheral and cutaneous T-cell lymphomas could lead to an expansion of treatment options for patients.

Updated results from the CheckMate-205 trial showed that nivolumab had an objective response rate of 73% in a cohort of patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma who received brentuximab vedotin before and/or after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

Ruben A. Mesa, MD, chair, Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology, deputy director, professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the NCCN guidelines for treatment of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).

The latest company to suffer a public relations and stock price crisis based on its drug pricing strategy is Ariad Pharmaceuticals, which has been blasted by Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-VT) on Twitter and in a formal letter demanding justification for the price tag Ariad has attached to the chronic myelogenous leukemia drug ponatinib.

Craig B. Reeder, MD, assistant professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the role that R-CHOP will continue to have in the treatment of patients with aggressive lymphomas.

Allison C. Rosenthal, DO, hematology consultant, Mayo Clinic, discusses some of the treatment strategies for patients with indolent lymphomas.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of nivolumab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory classical Hodgkin lymphoma after autologous stem cell transplant and treatment with brentuximab vedotin.

Patients with large cell lymphomas have a standard approach of R-CHOP; however, those who fall under the activated B-cell-like (ABC) subtype are not likely to respond well to the regimen.

Increasing subsets of patients—both adult and pediatric—with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are being administered therapies designed to target their molecular subtypes, according to Elias Joseph Jabbour, MD.

​Jerald P. Radich, MD, clinical research division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses which patients should receive the newly approval generic imatinib versus second-generation tyrosine-kinase inhibitors (TKIs) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).

Ruben Mesa, MD chair, hematology Mayo Clinic, MPN, discusses the significance of the new National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN).