Leukemia and Lymphoma

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.

As cure rates for young patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) improve, the historically negative impact of treatments has to be considered. However, a new study has found that over time, childbearing rates for female survivors of HL have improved to the point of approaching the rates of the general population.

A blood test that tracks the rise and fall of circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) levels can predict how patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma will respond to therapy within days of starting treatment.

A progress report from the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society highlighted policy measures that have eased the burden on patients, but also noted where more work is needed.

Advances in Hodgkin lymphoma treatment has led to high survival rates, but adolescents and young adults, who represent the largest age group affected by the disease, face lifelong morbidities from clinical trials. New analytic methods could help inform future protocol changes.

Michael Thompson, MD, PhD, FASCO, Aurora Advanced Healthcare, outlines novel therapies being used in the treatment of hematologic malignancies and identified biomarkers for deciding on a treatment approach.

A stem cell mutation that leads to bacterial translocation may help identify patients at risk of developing leukemia.

"It is time for patients to have more control over what is prescribed to them and technologies like chemoWave are giving them that power." A cancer diagnosis leads to chemoWave, an app for recording patient-reported outcomes.

An experimental drug for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with mutations in the gene encoding isocitrate dehydrogenase 1 (IDH1) was found to be safe with durable remissions.

Two abstracts presented at the International Society of Pharmacoeconomic and Outcomes Research Annual International Meeting highlighted patient experiences in blood cancers. One highlighted the worries of patients with acute myeloid leukemia, and the other analyzed economic burdens and resource utilization for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

A phase 3 study, conducted by the Children’s Oncology Group among children and young adults between ages 1 and 30 diagnosed with T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia or T-cell lymphoblastic leukemia, has found a 90% survival rate at 4 years posttreatment initiation—84% of these patients were declared cancer free at that point in their treatment trajectory. Results from this study will be presented at the 2018 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, June 1-5, in Chicago, Illinois.

Two study abstracts presented at the International Society of Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research Annual International Meeting look at the cost burden of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). One analyzed the lifetime cost of relapsed/refractory DLBCL, including third-line and subsequent treatments, and the other examined how being diagnosed with DBLCL can increase the cost burden of chronic conditions among Medicare beneficiaries.

Analysis of patient-reported outcomes found patients with relapsed/refractory B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia who were treated with inotuzumab ozogamicin reported better quality of life, functioning, and symptom scores compared with patients receiving standard-of-care chemotherapies.

A phase III randomized trial, with results being presented in June at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting, found the addition of nelarabine to standard chemotherapy regimen in patients with T-cell malignancies can improve disease-free survival rates.

Tisagenlecleucel, sold as Kymriah, has gained its second indication following the FDA's approval of the chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma, the most common form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Researchers have identified a new gene that may predispose individuals to develop acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). In addition, variants in the gene can influence patient response to treatment.

A novel drug that targets MDMX and MDM2, which inhibit a protein that suppresses tumors when they are overexpressed, has tripled the median survival rate in an animal model of human acute myeloid leukemia, according to new research.

Researchers have identified genetic subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma that revise the molecular classification of the disease and could provide insight into why some patients respond to treatment and others don’t.

The FDA has approved brentuximab vedotin (Adcentris) in combination with chemotherapy for adults with previously untreated state 3 or 4 classical Hodgkin lymphoma based on results of the ECHELON-1 study.

A new study recently published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has identified a possible solution for improving the efficacy of moxetumomab pasudotox, or moxe, in patients with relapsed and chemotherapy-resistant acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

New research has found that allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is just as effective in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma who are age 65 and older as it is in patients between the ages of 55 and 64.

CAR T-cell therapies tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah, Novartis) and axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta, Kite Pharma/Gilead) may come with hefty price tags, but the cost-effectiveness of both therapies fell below or within commonly cited thresholds of $50,000 to $150,000 per quality-adjusted life years, according to a report by the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review.

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) who have a sustained deep molecular response can maintain treatment-free remission for at least 48 weeks after using second-line nilotinib, according to a new study published in Annals of Internal Medicine.

Two stories--of taking part in clinical trials, and of serving as a voice for patients among scientists who run them--highlight how the advances in cancer are built on the trust between those living with the disease and the clinicians on the frontiers of care.

CONCORD-3 includes the records of 37.5 million patients diagnosed with cancer from 2000 to 2014, 322 population-based cancer registries in 71 countries and territories, and data on patients' vital status at least 5 years following diagnosis.

Researchers at the 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology in Atlanta, Georgia presented studies investigating the quality of life associated with various oncologic diseases.

Coverage from the 59th Annual Meeting and Exposition of the American Society of Hematology, December 9-12, 2017.

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy has been named the Advance of the Year in ASCO’s Clinical Cancer Advances 2018. According to the annual report, CAR T-cell therapy is “poised to transform the outlook for children and adults with certain otherwise incurable cancers."

The FDA was busy in 2017, with a number of notable approvals, including the first chimeric antigen receptor T-cell treatment. In a session at the 59th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, employees from the FDA presented data on 5 new drug approvals in leukemia and lymphoma in 2017.