LEUKEMIAS

Naval Daver, MD, explains the rationale for the phase II QUAZAR trial, which assessed the efficacy and safety of azacitidine in patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology, Pinkal Desai, MD, discussed the latest advancements in the treatment landscape for patients with AML, particularly for the older population. She also highlighted emerging treatment options that undergoing investigation now in clinical trials.

Interim phase II trial data showed that the combination of enasidenib, an oral small molecule inhibitor of mutant IDH2 proteins, and azacitidine, significantly improves complete remission and overall responses in patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia with IDH2 mutations compared with azacitidine alone, according to results presented at the 2019 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting.

Jeff P.&nbsp;<a>Sharman</a>, MD, discusses the safety profile of acalabrutinib that was demonstrated in&nbsp;<a href="https://www.targetedonc.com/conference/ash-2019/patients-with-cll-treated-on-the-elevatetn-trial-experience-improved-pfs-with-acalabrutinib"><strong>the phase III ELEVATE-TN trial</strong></a>. The trial&nbsp;&nbsp;evaluated acalabrutinib&nbsp;&nbsp;as a single agent or in combination with obinutuzumab versus obinutuzumab&nbsp;&nbsp;plus chlorambucil in patients with treatment-na&iuml;ve chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Following the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting,&nbsp;Targeted Oncology&nbsp;spoke with experts from various specialties in hematology. The experts highlighted some of the top abstracts from the meeting that will impact the way multiple myeloma, leukemias, MPNs, and lymphomas are treated.

When treatment decisions are being made regarding chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), patient age should be an important factor. CLL is a disease of the elderly, with more than 40% of all patients &gt;75 years.

Onvansertib inhibits tumor growth in patients with acute myeloid leukemia who are resistant to venetoclax, according to the in-vitro and in-vivo data from a phase II trial announced in a press release issued by Trovagene, Inc.

In November 2019, the FDA approved a number of treatments, including acalabrutinib for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia and small lymphocytic leukemia, as well as zanubrutinib for the treatment of mantle cell lymphoma. A biosimilar for pegfilgrastim was also approved under indications.

The FDA has approved acalabrutinib for the treatment of adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma as either an initial or subsequent therapy.

Kanti R. Rai, MD, professor of medicine, Northwell Health and Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra University, explains the importance of attention to age when treating patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is a typically elderly patient population.

In an interview with Targeted Oncology at the 2019 Chemotherapy Foundation Symposium, Richard R.&nbsp; Furman, MD, reviewed his presentation on prognostic markers and their importance in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Kerry Rogers, MD,&nbsp;discusses the rationale for evaluating ibrutinib in patients with hairy cell leukemia in the phase II trial.

The emergence of resistance mutations in patients with cancer who receive targeted therapies is an expected development that will require new diagnostic methods of identifying the mechanisms through which these alterations occur, according to Fei Dong, MD, during the 2019 Association for Molecular Pathology Annual Meeting.<br /> &nbsp;

A supplemental New Drug Application for the combination of ibrutinib and rituximab has been submitted to the FDA for the first-line treatment of patients aged 70 years or younger with chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma, according to a press release from ibrutinib developer, AbbVie.

Pinkal Desai, MD, discusses the factors a practicing physician should consider when selecting an appropriate induction therapy for patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

In an interview with&nbsp;Targeted Oncology, Eytan M. Stein, MD,&nbsp;reviews the current treatment landscape of acute myeloid leukemia, underscores the importance of molecular monitoring, and highlights where the field is headed.

A number of promising biologic therapies are beginning to transform the treatment of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, with the greatest potential seen with blinatumomab and inotuzumab ozogamicin in combination with chemotherapy, according to a presentation by Hagop M. Kantarjian, MD, at the 37th Annual CFS.<br /> &nbsp;

Detailed results of the phase III ADMIRAL trial, which evaluated the use of gilteritinib in adult patients with FLT3 mutation&ndash;positive relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, have been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and reaffirm the improved overall survival rate seen with gilteritinib compared with chemotherapy in these patients, according to a press release from Astellas Pharma Inc.

In October 2019, the FDA approved a new treatment option for patients with advanced ovarian, fallopian tube, or primary peritoneal cancer, as well as a new dosing regimen for patients receiving moderately emetogenic chemotherapy. Additionally, the FDA granted breakthrough therapy designations to 2 therapies, as well as an orphan drug designation, a priority review, and 2 fast track designations.

In the phase II biomarker-driven trial combining retinoic acid receptor alpha agonist SY-145 with azacitidine, newly diagnosed adult patients with RARA-positive acute myeloid leukemia who were unfit for intensive chemotherapy continued to show responses to the combination and demonstrate tolerability of the regimen, according to a press release from Syros Pharmaceuticals.

Ublituximab in combination with ibrutinib demonstrated a benefit in progression-free survival over ibrutinib monotherapy, as assessed by an independent review committee, in patients with high-risk relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the final long-term results of the phase III GENUINE trial.

John DiPersio, MD, PhD, discusses targeted therapies for myeloid malignancies using DARTs, Bites, and antibody&ndash;drug conjugates, a topic he presented during the 2019 Society for Hematologic Oncology Annual Meeting.

Bemcentinib, a first-in-class AXL inhibitor, has been approved for a fast track designation by the FDA for the treatment of elderly patients with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia, according to a press release from BerGenBio.<br /> &nbsp;

Ivosidenib in combination with azacitidine demonstrated promising efficacy in addition to being well tolerated in patients with newly diagnosed <em>IDH1</em>-mutant acute myeloid leukemia who were ineligible for intensive chemotherapy.

Among patients with acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome who completed myeloablative allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the predictive utility of testing circulating tumor DNA was comparable with that of mutation persistence evaluation in matched bone marrow samples, according to a study published recently in Blood.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, shares a message with community oncologists about the evolving treatment landscape for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The advent of an era of targeted immunotherapy and CAR T-cell therapies for the treatment of adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia may reduce the need for hematopoietic stem cell transplant in certain cases.<br /> &nbsp;

Marcelo C. Pasquini, MD, discusses the rationale for analyzing real-world data for the use of tisagenlecleucel, a chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy, as a treatment for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. This CD19 CAR T cell was approved 2 years ago for use in both ALL and DLBCL.

Due to treatment benefit observed in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia,&nbsp;2 clinical trials investigating blinatumomab (Blincyto) versus chemotherapy were stopped early, according to the drug developer Amgen.

Umbralisib and ublituximab in combination with pembrolizumab was well tolerated among patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia and Richter&rsquo;s transformation, according to a phase I/II trial presented at the 18th International Workshop on CLL. Responses were durable in high-risk patients who are BTK-refractory, including 2 complete responses in patients with RT.