Hematology

Children and adolescents with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) face an increased risk of obesity and growth impairment from the disease and during ALL treatment, regardless of exposure to cranial irradiation, according to a recent study.

While survival from leukemia improved among adults from 1995 to 2009, and the survival gap between sexes decreased, the racial gap did not, according to new research published in Cancer.

The analysis comes amid a debate set off when CVS Caremark announced that it would allow self-funded insurers to exclude drugs that entered the market above $100,000 per quality-adjusted life year.

In the last decade, testing for and treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) had undergone substantial changes with new testing that can personalize therapy and new agents that provide more clinical benefit.

A life-saving therapy is challenging to administer and poses financial risks for patients and institutions alike. Speakers at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy Nexus 2018 address some approaches to paying for it while CMS develops long-term policies.

The EVI1 gene may be single-handedly at fault for acute myeloid leukemia, according to research published in Nature Communications.

Researchers have created a database that shows how 409 different tumor cells respond to 122 therapies, which will allow clinical trials to proceed for this aggressive blood cancer.

Multiple myeloma (MM) occurs 2 to 3 times more frequently in Americans of African descent than in Americans of European descent, and a new study has identified 3 gene types that account for this disparity.

Tisagenlecleucel's high price is aligned with the benefit the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy provides over a patient's life. Approximately 40% of patients treated are expected to be long-term survivors.

Research at the University of Washington is exploring the possibility of triggering one gene to take over the function of another with a common mutation that triggers acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

The dual inhibitor first blocks 2 kinases that are known to aid the growth of malignant B cells, and then it disrupts the microenvironment that supports tumor growth.

A once-weekly dose of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) in combination with dexamethasone has been approved to treat patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) multiple myeloma. The approved regimen improved progression-free survival and had a better overall response rate than a twice-weekly regimen.

Loyola University Chicago and Loyola Medicine announced plans this week to develop their own chimeric antigen receptor T-cells that would have less toxic side effects.

Cancer-regenerating cells that arise after chemotherapy have been identified as a new type of cancerous cell that is responsible for the return of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) after remission.

While it is well understood that psychological distress is a major side effect of cancer and its treatment, and that stress can have a strong impact on patients’ quality of life, a new study indicated that stress is linked with markers of more advanced disease in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), the most common form of leukemia among adults.

Lower socioeconomic status is associated with poor survival in lymphoma.

Children of Hispanic ethnicity have a higher risk of developing neurotoxicity when they are treated with methotrexate for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) compared with non-Hispanic white children.

This week, the top managed care news included medical groups asking CMS to halt or slow down its plans to cut physician reimbursement for evaluation and management services; the Senate weighs a package of bills to combat the opioid epidemic; new research shows the Affordable Care Act pushed the uninsured rate down to 10%.

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine have found that preventing a mutated protein from leaving the nucleus and traveling to the cytoplasm of the cell can help inhibit the growth of leukemic cells in acute myeloid leukemia.

Patients with multiple myeloma (MM) who are enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan or other creditable prescription drug coverage have better survival than patients without prescription drug coverage. According to a study in Journal of Clinical Oncology, this improved survival seemed to be a result of patients having access to all treatment options.

Amgen has submitted a supplemental New Drug Application to the FDA to expand the prescribing information of carfilzomib (Kyprolis) to include a once-weekly dosing option in combination with dexamethasone for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

A new long-acting treatment for hemophilia A has been approved for previously treated patients, aged 12 years and older. Bayer’s Jivi was also approved for on-demand treatment and the perioperative management of bleeding in the same population.