Hematologic Malignancies

San Diego, CA—A 2-year duration of combination immunotherapy with ven­etoclax (Venclexta) and rituximab (Ri­tuxan) improved survival compared with standard-of-care chemoimmunotherapy combination with bendamustine (Ben­deka) plus rituximab in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to follow-up data from the MURANO clinical trial presented at ASH 2018. Early results were first presented at ASH 2017.

San Diego, CA—The BCL2 Gly101Val mutation is the first genomic alteration to be identified as responsible for resistance to venetoclax (Venclexta), a potent and effective medication indicated for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The BCL2 Gly101Val mutation is unique to CLL and so far has not been described in other cancers.

San Diego, CA—More than 40% of older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) associated with an IDH2 mutation achieved complete remission when treated with the IDH2 inhibitor enasidenib (Idhifa), according to results of a mutation-driven clinical trial substudy presented at ASH 2018.

San Diego, CA—Front-line ibrutinib (Imbruvica) therapy results in a lower rate of disease progression or death than the current standard-of-care chemoimmunotherapy with bendamustine (Ben­deka) and rituximab (Rituxan) in older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Adding rituximab to ibrutinib did not improve outcomes compared with ibrutinib alone, reported Jennifer A. Woyach, MD, Associate Professor, Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus, at ASH 2018.

San Diego, CA—In a first-in-human study of a novel bispecific T-cell engager (BiTE), AMG 420, when administered at a daily dose of 400 mcg, this novel drug induced responses in 7 of 10 patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma in a phase 1 clinical trial, according to results presented at ASH 2018.

Chemoimmunotherapy with chlor­ambucil plus obinutuzumab or bendamustine plus rituximab is standard frontline treatment for older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, chemoimmunotherapy is associated with toxic effects, and the risk increases with age.

San Diego, CA—The results of a phase 2 clinical trial presented at ASH 2018 suggest that early therapeutic intervention is beneficial in patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma.

San Diego, CA—A dizzying array of new chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies targeting the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) designed specifically for the treatment of multiple myeloma was presented at ASH 2018. BCMA-targeted CAR T-cell therapies are designed to improve T-cell persistence, depth of response, and tolerability. Response rates reported at ASH 2018 range from 70% to 100%, depending on the patient population and the use of previous regimens.

San Diego, CA—Interim analysis of an international phase 3 clinical trial supports the addition of daratumumab (Darzalex) to lenalidomide (Revlimid) and dexamethasone as the new standard of care in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are transplant-ineligible.