ASCO 2015 Highlights

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—Luspatercept, a first-in-class erythroid maturation agent, significantly reduced the need for blood transfusions in more than 50% of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) who were anemic, required regular red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, and/or had abnormal iron overload.

San Diego, CA—A phase 2 expansion-cohort clinical trial has shown encouraging results with the combination of oral rigosertib, a novel styryl benzyl sulfone, and azacitidine (Vidaza) in patients with heavily pretreated myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) compared with azacitidine monotherapy, according to data presented at ASH 2018.

San Diego, CA—An analysis of real-world administrative claims data in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has highlighted the need for treatments that result in fewer adverse events, according to data presented at ASH 2018.

San Diego, CA—For children and young adults diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), receiving treatment at specialized cancer centers has been associated with improved outcomes versus nonspecialized centers, but this comes at an increased cost, according to data presented at ASH 2018.

San Diego, CA—Analysis of healthcare utilization among Medicare beneficiaries with multiple myeloma suggests that the setting of autologous hema­topoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) has a significant impact on provider reimbursement and out-of-pocket expenses for patients, according to data presented at ASH 2018.

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.

On February 15, 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the immunotherapy agent pembrolizumab (Keytruda; Merck) for the adjuvant treatment of patients with resected stage III melanoma. This was the fourth approval pembrolizumab has received in the United States for the treatment of skin cancer, and the first FDA approval in the adjuvant setting.