Latest Conference Articles

Atezolizumab Triplet Achieves 75% CR Rate in Frontline Follicular Lymphoma

The frontline combination of atezolizumab, obinutuzumab, and bendamustine, achieved a complete response in 75% of patients with follicular lymphoma, according to findings from a phase Ib/II trial.

Combination Regimen Safe, Effective as Salvage Therapy for Relapsed/Refractory Hodgkin Lymphoma

Brentuximab vedotin (Adcetris) plus nivolumab (Opdivo) appeared active and well tolerated for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory Hodgkin lymphoma.

Rituximab Leads to Faster Response in CLL, But PFS Not Improved

Despite a faster time to complete remission, the addition of rituximab (Rituxan) to ibrutinib (Imbruvica) did not improve PFS or overall survival OS compared with ibrutinib alone in patients with CLL.

Dr. Gasparetto on Results for Selinexor and Daratumumab in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma

Cristina Gasparetto, MD, associate professor, head of the myeloma program, Duke University Medical Center, discusses a phase 1b study to assess the combination of selinexor and daratumumab (Darzalex) in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma previously exposed to proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory drugs during the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting. Selinexor is an interesting new drug that inhibits Exportin 1 (XPO1), which reactivates some of the tumor suppressor proteins. In the phase 1b portion of the study, investigators aimed to identify the optimal dose of selinexor in combination with daratumumab. Gasparetto says the study included a small number of patients, but demonstrated very encouraging data.

Curative Approach Improves Responses in Patients With Smoldering Multiple Myeloma

A novel approach demonstrated durable responses in the treatment of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma, according to results from a single-arm, phase II trial.

Dr. Younes on Atezolizumab, Obinutuzumab, and Bendamustine in Follicular Lymphoma

Anas Younes, MD, Chief of Lymphoma Service, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the interim analysis of a study exploring the safety and efficacy of atezolizumab (Tecentriq) in combination with obinutuzumab (Gazya) and bendamustine in patients with previously untreated follicular lymphoma.

PD-1 Inhibitor Cemiplimab Active in B-Lymphoid Malignancies

Cemiplimab as a monotherapy and in combination with the monoclonal antibody REGN1979 demonstrated clinical activity in patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma.

Axi-Cel Responses Sustained With Longer Follow-Up for NHL

Axi-cel (axicabtagene ciloleucel; Yescarta) maintained a complete remission rate of 40% with a median follow-up of 15.4 months for patients with refractory, aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Tisagenlecleucel Continues to Impress in DLBCL

The CAR T-cell therapy tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah) achieved an overall response rate of 53.1% in adult patients with relapsed/refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

BCMA-Directed bb2121 Highly Effective for Myeloma

Treatment with the BCMA-directed CAR T-cell therapy bb2121 induced complete remissions for 56% of patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Frontline Brentuximab Vedotin With AVD Bests ABVD for Advanced HL

The phase III ECHELON-1 study in Hodgkin lymphoma compared the use of A+AVD with standard chemotherapy of doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine.

Alternative Agent Shows Clinical Activity in Patients With Advanced Systemic Mastocytosis

Treatment using BLU-285 (Avapritinib) induced clinically significant activity in patients with an advanced or aggressive form of systemic mastocytosis, according to data from an ongoing phase I trial.

Ibrutinib/Venetoclax Combo Impresses in Early CLL Data

The combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and venetoclax (Venclexta) elicited a complete response (CR) or CR with incomplete hematologic recovery rate of 47% for patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Mogamulizumab Significantly Improves PFS in CTCL

The anti-CCR4 monoclonal antibody mogamulizumab reduced the risk of progression or death by 47% compared with vorinostat (Zolinza) in previously treated patients with cutaneous T-cell lymphoma.

Dr. Rogers Discusses Early Intervention With Ibrutinib in CLL

Kerry Rogers, MD, Assistant Professor, Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses a phase II trial of early intervention with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with asymptomatic, high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) during the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting.

Dr. Davids on Checkpoint Blockade Inhibition in Hematologic Malignancies After Stem Cell Transplant

Matthew S. Davids, MD, Associate Director, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Center for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, discusses a study that explored optimizing checkpoint blockade as a treatment for relapsed hematologic malignancies after allogenic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

Zanubrutinib Highly Active in Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

The investigational BTK inhibitor zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) demonstrated promising clinical activity in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab Safe and Effective as Initial Treatment for MCL

Lenalidomide (Revlimid) plus rituximab (Rituxan) is a feasible combination that is also safe and active, as initial and maintenance therapy for patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Direct Oral Anticoagulant Prevents VTE Recurrence in Select Patients With Cancer

Treatment using oral rivaroxaban (Xarelto) reduced venous thromboembolism (VTE) recurrence among patients with cancer, according to results from the select-d trial.

Antibody-Drug Conjugate Active in Heavily Pretreated Metastatic TNBC

Monotherapy with an antibody drug conjugate targeting the transmembrane protein LIV-1 had encouraging antitumor activity in a phase 1 study of patients with heavily pretreated TNBC.

Gene-Based Biomarker Identifies Patients With Breast Cancer More Likely to Respond to Enzalutamide

Enzalutamide (Xtandi) added to exemestane improved progression-free survival in patients with hormone receptor-positive advanced breast cancer and no prior endocrine therapy who were positive for a gene signature-based biomarker indicating androgen receptor-signaling.

Trastuzumab Deruxtecan Impresses in HER2 Expressing Breast Cancers

Trastuzumab deruxtecan (ds-8201a), a HER2-targeting antibody-drug conjugate, demonstrated significant clinical activity in heavily pretreated patients with HER2-expressing metastatic breast cancers.

Positive CTC Findings Linked to High Recurrence Risk in HR+ Breast Cancer

Detection of positive circulating tumor cells in the blood 5 years after a breast cancer diagnosis was associated with an increased risk for late recurrence in women with HR–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer

Pembrolizumab/Eribulin Efficacy Maintained for TNBC in Larger Dataset

Treatment with the combination of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) and eribulin (Halaven) demonstrated a 26.4% objective response rate for patients with metastatic triple-negative breast cancer.

Dr. Burstein Discusses Key Updates from the SOFT Trial

Harold Burstein, MD, PhD, medical oncologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute discusses some key findings from the follow-up data from the SOFT trial.

Even Moderate Weight Loss Helps Prevent Breast Cancer in Postmenopausal Women

Losing even some extra weight significantly reduces the risk of breast cancer for postmenopausal women, expert says.

Neoadjuvant Abemaciclib Active in Early Breast Cancer

Neoadjuvant treatment with abemaciclib (Verzenio) plus anastrozole induced complete cell cycle arrest as measured by Ki67 for 67.8% of patients with HR-positive/HER2-negative early-stage breast cancer.

CDK4/6 Improved PFS in Older Women with HR+ Metastatic Breast Cancer

Older women with HR–positive breast cancer treated with a CDK4/6 inhibitor may derive a progression-free survival benefit similar to that seen in their younger counterparts

Talazoparib Improves PFS in BRCA-Positive Breast Cancer

The PARP inhibitor talazoparib reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 46% versus chemotherapy in patients with BRCA-positive advanced breast cancer.

Dr. Hershman Discusses Acupuncture for Arthralgia

Dawn Hershman, MD, MS, professor of Medicine and Epidemiology, Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the use of acupuncture to treat joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors in patients with breast cancer.