ASH Annual Meeting

The novel targeted agent ibrutinib has demonstrated dramatic activity in hard-to-treat patients with CLL when used alone and in combination with rituximab, raising the prospect of a promising new therapy for elderly and frail patients who currently have few viable options.

Mark J. Levis, MD, PhD, discusses the design and results of a phase II trial of quizartinib in patients with FLT3-ITD positive or negative relapsed/refractory acute myeloid leukemia.

MLN9708 has shown comparable efficacy and greater convenience and tolerability than bortezomib, for patients with multiple myeloma.

Meletios A. Dimopoulos, MD, Alexandra Hospital, Athens, Greece, explains a phase III study that analyzed pomalidomide in combination with low-dose dexamethasone in relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma.

Jorge E. Cortes, MD, Department of Leukemia, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, describes the methods and results of a phase II study examining ponatinib.

The combination of pomalidomide and a steroid significantly improved outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma, marking what researchers say is a notable advancement for a sizable proportion of those treated for the disease.

Researchers have demonstrated that ponatinib can overcome a wide range of mutations that cause treatment resistance—including the stubborn T315I mutation—in all stages of CML and Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph+ ALL).