Articles related to Hematology/Oncology

To define the spectrum of alterations common at relapse, the researchers in this study performed integrated profiling of 136 relapsed pediatric AML cases with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), whole-genome sequencing, and target-capture sequencing. In addition, well-characterized fusion oncoproteins were identified, as were somatic mutations in UBTF (upstream binding transcription factor). See the results from the late-breaking abstract being presented at the ASH Annual Meeting & Exhibition.

In this late-breaking abstract from the ASH Annual Meeting & Exhibition, the researches wanted to address the limited understanding of how and when CH develops, what factors govern its behavior, how it interacts with aging, and how these variables relate to malignant progression. Here are the results from analyzing 1,593 blood DNA samples from 385 elderly individuals, each sampled up to 5 times over approximately 13 years.

A late-breaking abstract from the ASH Annual Meeting & Exhibition. In this double-blind, placebo-controlled, international study of 879 patients (median age: 65 (range 19–80) years; IPI 3–5 (62%)), the pola-R-CHP combination demonstrated a 27% reduction in the relative risk of disease progression, relapse, or death compared with R-CHOP, with a similar safety profile in the first-line treatment of patients with DLBCL.

A randomized phase II trial has found that consolidation therapy with nivolumab (Opdivo) plus ipilimumab (Yervoy) after chemoradiotherapy did not lead to better survival outcomes for patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). The study enrolled 222 patients with stage I-IIIB histologically or cytologically confirmed limited-disease SCLC, and adequate hematologic, renal, lung, and pulmonary function. The combination regimen yielded no improvement in overall survival, and grade 3 adverse events were approximately 2.5 times more common in the dual therapy group.

“MB” is a frail, wheelchair-ridden, nearly blind, and mostly deaf woman living with early dementia and neglected lung cancer. What this oncologist thought MB wanted and needed was a lot different than what MB actually wanted and needed after discussing various options with her and talking to her family on numerous occasions. A humbling, honest view of an oncologist’s biases.

DLBCL is increasingly being recognized as a heterogeneous disease with distinct molecular subtypes. This has challenged the rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP) treatment paradigm in recent years, as several DLBCL subtypes have inferior survival after standard R-CHOP therapy. So how do you choose? In this review the authors conclude with proposed clinical management scenarios in which DA-R-EPOCH may be preferred, including some for patient populations in which the use of R-CHOP vs. DA-R-EPOCH is controversial.