HEMATOLOGY

With 2 CAR T-cell therapies now approved and more moving quickly through early-phase clinical trials, 4 healthcare experts reflected on the evolving field of CAR T-cell therapy, their understanding of its current and future applicability for patients, the process for administration and the challenges and obstacles that remain unaddressed during an Association of Community Cancer Centers interactive panel.<br /> &nbsp;

A&nbsp;supplemental new drug application for ibrutinib (Imbruvica) has been granted a priority review by the FDA&nbsp;for use in combination with obinutuzumab (Gazyva) as a frontline treatment for adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma.

David G. Maloney, MD, PhD,&nbsp;reviews the latest developments with CAR T-cell therapy in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Lloyd Damon, MD,&nbsp;discussed novel therapies in AML with a focus on FLT3 and IDH1/2 inhibitors.<br /> &nbsp;

Daniel A. Pollyea, MD, MS, discusses how far the field of acute myeloid leukemia has come in the last 1 to 2 years.

Danielle Brander, MD,&nbsp;discusses the current treatment landscape in the frontline setting for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

In a 16-0 vote, the&nbsp;FDA&rsquo;s Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee has recommended the approval of&nbsp;the rituximab biosimilar CT-P10 for 3 of the anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody&rsquo;s non-Hodgkin lymphoma indications.

Shagun Arora, MD, discusses new agents and combination studies beyond chemoimmunotherapy for patients with CLL.

Guidelines from the International Lymphoma Radiation Oncology Group recommend the use of proton therapy in adults with mediastinal lymphomas and for young women. Specifically, clinicians should consider proton therapy in mediastinal disease that spans below the left main stem coronary artery and is near the front of, behind, or on the left side of the heart.

Rami S. Komrokji, MD,&nbsp;reflects on the diverse treatment landscape of AML and touches on the prognostic importance of biomarkers.

Mazyar Shadman, MD,&nbsp;discusses the evolution of therapy in CLL and how physicians are working to balance these novel agents with additional modalities.<br /> &nbsp;

Ehab Atallah, MD,&nbsp;discusses the discontinuation of treatment for patients with chronic myeloid leukemia.<br /> &nbsp;

Infographic: Here, we share the top 5 oncology news stories we reported this week, including the most recent FDA updates and expert insights on key developments in the field.

In an interview with <em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Jay Yang, MD, discussed the evolution of the treatment landscape for AML and the future outlook for these treatments.

A look back at all the&nbsp;FDA news&nbsp;that happened in the month of&nbsp;September 2018, including several new approvals, priority reviews, a breakthrough therapy designation, and more, in a variety of cancer types.

Javier A. Pinilla-Ibarz, MD, PhD,&nbsp;discusses updates in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Patients with CD30-expressing peripheral T-cell lymphoma who were treated with the combination of brentuximab vedotin and frontline chemotherapy experienced a&nbsp;statistically significant improvement in progression-free and overall survival,&nbsp;according to topline results from the phase III ECHELON-2 trial.

Philip Bierman, MD,&nbsp;discusses the current landscape of central nervous system involvement in aggressive lymphoma and the research that still needs to be conducted.

Antibody&ndash;drug conjugate therapies are making a larger impact on the treatment paradigm for patients with lymphomas, especially following promising data for brentuximab vedotin and inotuzumab ozogamicin.

Jonathon B. Cohen, MD, discusses findings from a study of polatuzumab vedotin, an anti-CD79b antibody-drug conjugate, with bendamustine and rituximab in patients with aggressive lymphomas.

During a presentation on diffuse large B-cell lymphoma at the 2018 SOHO Annual Meeting, Thomas E. Witzig, MD, discussed several ongoing trials that hope to raise the cure rate above the 80% threshold.

Pontchartrain Cancer Center was founded in 2005 to serve an area of Louisiana that lacked the necessary resources for cancer care. This community cancer center, with 2 locations in Southeast Louisiana, accommodates any patient to walk through its doors, filling a major unmet need for the community in this rural area.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Katy Rezvani, MD, discussed the potential she sees with CAR NK cells. She also highlighted some of the challenges with both CAR T-cell therapy in patients with CLL, as well as challenges to overcome with CAR NK cells in this patient population.

Sham Mailankody, MBBS, discusses current treatment options and shifting preferences, especially toward triplet combinations, for patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma, as well as emerging immunotherapy treatment options.

Duvelisib (Copiktra) has been approved by the FDA for the&nbsp;treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma or relapsed/refractory follicular lymphoma.&nbsp;Both indications are for the treatment of patients who have received at least 2 prior therapies.

The partial clinical hold previously placed on&nbsp;trials examining tazemetostat in patients with various solid tumors and hematologic malignancies has been lifted by the FDA and enrollment has been reopened.

Based on data from the phase III MURANO trial, the European Medicines Agency&rsquo;s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended the approval of venetoclax&nbsp;for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who have received at least 1 previous therapy. AbbVie, a co-developer of venetoclax with Roche, announced the CHMP&rsquo;s decision in a news release.

Combinations of novel drugs used for treating patients with lymphomas may have the potential to improve responses and overcome resistance to therapy but can be accompanied by unexpected adverse events that demand careful monitoring, Kieron Dunleavy, MD, cautioned during the 2018 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference.

<em>Targeted Oncology</em>&trade; will launch its third &ldquo;Expert Perspective: Virtual Tumor Board&rdquo; on Monday, September 24.&nbsp;Each Virtual Tumor Board is a video-editorial discussion that features key opinion leaders from a specific oncological field considering options for treating patients based on case scenarios. This episode will focus on multiple myeloma.

In an interview with&nbsp;<em>Targeted Oncology</em>, Jorge E. Cortes, MD, discussed the results from the QuANTUM-R trial, as well as some other studies investigating the use of quizartinib in different patient populations in AML.