Overall, NGS-based MRD analysis in ALL seems to be especially helpful in patients with RQ-PCR+ MolNE and may help to discriminate true MRD from false positivity in this considerable and clinically important group.

In this interview, Nicole Lamanna, MD, discusses challenges and application of BTK inhibitors, results with pirtobrutinib in hematologic malignancies, specifically addressing CLL, and shares her personal observations regarding pirtobrutinib use.

Register now for the 2022 Virtual & In-Person CME Series, a multi-day, debate-driven, conference on neurotoxicity in hematologic cancers taking place from June 22-24.

Oral azactidine substantially improved survival compared with placebo irrespective of baseline MRD status, and the survival benefit with oral-AZA relative to placebo was greater in the baseline MRD+ subgroup than in the MRD− subgroup. Multivariate analysis confirmed the significant independent treatment effect of oral-AZA vs. placebo on OS and RFS when controlling for MRD status at baseline.

Perelman School of Medicine’s David Teachey, MD, reviews outcomes and implications from two recent Children’s Oncology Group trials and describes current research with daratumumab and CAR T-cell therapy.

Targeted therapy gene mutations may: (a) encode a protein that can be targeted in a manner distinct from the WT protein; (b) cause abnormal activation of a protein that is druggable but for which mutant-specific targeting has not been achieved; or (c) create novel molecular dependencies that are druggable. This article describe key examples of genetic drivers and associated modes of druggability, considers the clinical and research challenges in the field, and discusses new approaches to maximizing therapeutic benefit of targeted therapies.