Articles related to Hematology/Oncology

The approval of the drug (Fotivda, Aveo Pharmaceuticals) was based on the results of the open-label, multi-center TIVO-3 trial, which looked at progression-free survival (PFS) as the main efficacy endpoint, assessed by a blinded independent radiology review committee. Secondary end points included overall survival (OS) and objective response rate (ORR).

More good news for zanubrutinib, which received accelerated approval in November 2019 in the US for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) in adult patients who have undergone at least one prior therapy. The supplemental new drug application (sNDA) was submitted by the drug’s manufacturer, BeiGene, based on data from the global phase III ASPEN trial.

In this “Clinical Trials & Observations” report/visual abstract from the pages of Blood Advances (ASH), the authors focus on two key points: 1) In patients with R/R AML, venetoclax combination therapy resulted in responses in 31% of patients and a median OS of 6.1 months, and 2) NPM1 mutations predicted higher response rates; adverse cytogenetics and mutations in TP53, KRAS/NRAS, and SF3B1 predicted worse OS.

In this Original Investigation from JAMA, the authors discuss the results of a randomized clinical trial that included 208 patients with high- and intermediate-risk first relapse of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Did postreinduction treatment with blinatumomab compared with chemotherapy, followed by hematopoietic stem cell transplant, result in a statistically significant difference in disease-free survival?

For the estimated 21,000 patients who will receive a diagnosis of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), 20% of them will have early-stage disease. Unfortunately, that 20% will not be offered treatment, as the current management of these patients follows a “watch-and-wait” paradigm. However, with the advent of better prognostic tools to identify patients at high risk, in addition to the recent approval of several novel oral agents with impressive efficacy, re-examining this approach now seems prudent.

This article presents a review and commentary of selected presentations from the all-virtual 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting and Exposition, which took place in December 2020. Coverage includes safety and efficacy results from various trials and studies, including MEDALIST, DACOTA, P-2001, M15-531, ACE-536-MF-001, Sintra-REV, and COMMANDS.