Articles related to LYMPHOMA

This review summarizes the clinical presentation, workup, staging, and recent advancements in the treatment of PCNSL. Although treatment advances include the use of BTK inhibitors and immunomodulators, relapse is common and 5-year survival is 40% or lower. Thus, accurate early diagnosis and initiation of treatment is time sensitive for optimal neurologic recovery and disease control.

In patients with advanced-stage, untreated follicular lymphoma (FL), the RELEVANCE trial demonstrated that rituximab plus chemotherapy (R-chemo) and lenalidomide plus rituximab (R2) had comparable efficacy (FL). After six years of follow-up, a report on the second interim analysis of the RELEVANCE experiment is presented here.

The differences between bispecific antibodies and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, the side effects of bispecific antibodies, how the antibodies may address unmet needs in lymphoma, and a few other observations are discussed in this interview with Dr. John N. Allan, Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Weill Cornell Medicine in New York.

This is an 8-year follow-up to the author’s initial report of a randomized phase II study in patients with newly diagnosed primary CNS lymphoma treated with high-dose methotrexate-based induction chemotherapy followed by whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) or high-dose chemotherapy (thiotepa-busulfan-cyclophosphamide) with autologous stem-cell transplantation (ASCT). They conclude that 40 Gy WBRT should be avoided in first-line treatment in this population because of its neurotoxicity and suboptimal efficacy in reducing relapses, while ASCT appears to be highly efficient in preventing relapses.

The analysis showed that autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT) was underutilized in the US community setting, among other results. These data support ongoing prospective trials evaluating the role of ASCT in patients achieving complete response without detectable minimal residual disease.

Copiktra (duvelisib), an oral inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), is indicated for the treatment of adults with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) after at least 2 prior therapies. Based on the results of a clinical trial evaluating the long-term effects of the drug, the FDA recommends that health care providers evaluate the risks and benefits of continuing Copiktra vs. prescribing an alternative therapy.