Hematologic Malignancies

Atlanta, GA—A recent analysis of a commercial claims database suggests that oral therapy for multiple myeloma may help decrease the economic burden for patients and healthcare systems. According to data presented at ASH 2017, patients with multiple myeloma who received injectable therapy used significantly more disability benefits and incurred higher productivity costs than patients who received oral medications.
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Atlanta, GA—Although chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies directed against the CD19 protein garnered much attention at ASH 2017, CAR T-cells targeting B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA), a protein expressed nearly universally on multiple myeloma cells, were found to be remarkably effective in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma.
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Atlanta, GA—Although there have been major advancements in the treatment of hematologic malignancies in recent years, according to Richard Pazdur, MD, Director, FDA’s Oncology Center of Excellence, the number of agents approved in 2017 for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) was nothing short of “phenomenal.”
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San Francisco, CA—Recent advances in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma have dramatically altered the trajectory of the disease, as providers now have several efficacious agents in various drug classes at their disposal. At the 2017 NCCN Hematologic Malignancies Congress, Shaji K. Kumar, MD, Division of Hematology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, provided management strategies for newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, including the role of autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT) and posttransplant maintenance therapy.
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Chicago, IL—Maintenance therapy can improve overall survival (OS) in older and younger patients with mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL), based on current experience with rituximab (Rituxan) therapy, but the optimal dose and dosing schedule remain under investigation.
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Chicago, IL—In patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma, the addition of daratumumab to carfilzomib (Kyprolis), lenalidomide (Revlimid), and dexamethasone (ie, the KRd regimen) is showing promise as a frontline treatment regimen. According to the results of an open-label, phase 1b study presented at ASCO 2017, induction therapy with the KRd regimen was well-tolerated, and the overall safety profile was consistent with previous reports for KRd, with no additional toxicity observed with the addition of daratumumab. Moreover, the study investigators reported that the regimen was very effective, with 100% overall response rate observed.
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Chicago, IL—The era of immunotherapy in multiple myeloma is near. Two presentations at ASCO 2017 demonstrated that cellular therapy can steer immune reconstitution against multiple myeloma.
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Chicago, IL—Survival with the use of a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) approved for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the chronic phase is comparable among the available drugs, so other variables should come into play when selecting a specific TKI. In some instances, a treatment-free remission is possible, said CML experts at the 2017 ASCO annual meeting.
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Orlando, FL—A conditioning regimen before autologous hematopoietic stem-cell transplant (HSCT) consisting of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) plus high-dose melphalan can help sustain post­transplant remission in patients with relapsed multiple myeloma who respond to transplant.
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San Diego, CA—Nelfinavir (Viracept), a drug used for HIV, led to a surprisingly high response rate when added to bor­tezomib (Velcade) in patients with proteasome inhibitor–refractory multiple myeloma, according to a phase 2 study reported by Christoph Driessen, MD, myeloma specialist, Kantonsspital St. Gallen, Switzerland, at the 2016 American Society of Hematology meeting.
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