Leukemia and Lymphoma

An update on immunotherapies and the potential impact of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells on oncology care.

A note from the editor-in-chief.

“Off-the-shelf” chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cells, also known as universal donor cells, were used in 2 young infants with relapsed, refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia resulted in molecular remission in 28 days in both infants.

Disease status, MUD/MRD donor, myeloablative conditioning regimen, GVHD prophylaxis other than tacrolimus/sirolimus, and Medicare and/or Medicaid as payer are significant predictors for cost of care in patient with acute leukemia who undergo allogenic hematopoietic cell transplant (AHCT).

At the 2016 annual meeting, the American Society of Hematology introduced the “Choosing Wisely Champions” to recognize the efforts of practitioners who are working to eliminate costly and potentially harmful overuse of tests and procedures.

Researchers from the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center have developed a novel method using modified donor T cells to make stem cell transplants both safer and more effective for treating blood cancers

Craig Sager, a sideline reporter for CNN and Turner Sports, has died a little over 2 and a half years after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).

Chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells have been dramatically effective in treating B-cell cancers, according to David L. Porter, MD, of the University of Pennsylvania Health System. He also identified the use of CAR T-cells for treating solid tumors as a research area that will see more development in the coming years.

A study published in the Annals of Oncology has analyzed data on young patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) to evaluate risk factors for febrile neutropenia and infection-related complications.

Colombia has decided to slash the price of imatinib mesylate (Gleevec), manufactured by Novartis, by nearly half.

In a series of interviews with MD Magazine, Yoav Golan, MD, MS, FIDSA, discussed some health risks for patients with acute myeloid leukemia who are experiencing neutropenia.

There has been a steady decline in death rates among children and adolescent patients diagnosed with cancer (ages 1 to 19 years), minus gender or racial disparity, between 1999 and 2014, according to a new report from the National Center for Health Statistics.

The ROCKET trial was halted last week following news of 3 patient deaths due to cerebral edema.

A new study in the New England Journal of Medicine has established that, at least in the case of lymphoma, a positron emission tomography (PET) scan can spare the patients serious side effects of chemotherapy.

The Colombian government is forcing pharmaceutical giant Novartis to lower prices of its leukemia medicine, imatinib (Gleevec).

The field of measurement in Mycosis Fungoides/Sézary syndrome type cutaneous T-cell lymphoma lacked a specific quality-of-life measure to describe patient experience or guide treatment decisions. Using an online platform with an engaged patient community, we developed and psychometrically validated a new measure in just under a year.

The German-Australian AML Study Group, one of the largest global groups evaluating treatments for acute myeloid leukemia (AML), has published results in the New England Journal of Medicine that now classifies AML into 11 classes based on the harbored genetic mutations.

During a session on the second day of the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, experts discussed treating patients with chimeric antigen receptor T cells (CAR-T cells).

A Medicare claims analysis of patients newly diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia revealed that high cost sharing was associated with reduced and/or delayed tyrosine kinase inhibitor initiation under Part D.

Just 2 days after being rejected by cost regulators in the UK, ibrutinib has been approved for the frontline treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia in the United States.

At the 57th annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, oncologists discussed trial data evaluating combination therapies for multiple myeloma and lymphoma.

Moffitt Cancer Center said there's nothing wrong with the drug, but a spokesman said the trial is halted for now pending the outcome of the investigation.

Results from a subgroup analysis of the phase 3 ENDEAVOR study and a phase 2 study in diffuse large B cell lymphoma patients were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

During a health outcomes session on the second day of the American Society of Hematology meeting, data presented from a study conducted at the University of Nebraska Medical Center suggested that the site of care bears a significant influence on the outcomes of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Adolescent and young adults (AYA) constitute a distinct population amongst patients with cancer. Historically, AYA patients with ALL treated along pediatric-inspired protocols had better outcomes compared to those treated on standard "adult type" regimens.

The study, published in the journal Cancer, found that non-biological factors are as important as biological variables in shaping outcomes in young patients with leukemia.

In the first clinical study to demonstrate the importance of precision medicine in lymphomas, researchers determined that patients with a specific molecular subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma responded better to ibrutinib than patients with a different molecular subtype.

At the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, physicians introduced some new lymphoma treatments as they described their personal experience with using them during the session, "Incorporating Novel Agents Into Lymphoma Therapy: Value in Everyday Practice."

Young adult cancer survivors who had received their first rounds of cancer treatment between the ages of 20 and 44 were 1.5 times more likely to have more hospitalizations after remission than the general public.

On the first day at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, physicians introduced some of the newer agents currently available to treat lymphoma and described their experience with these agents during the session, "Incorporating Novel Agents into Lymphoma Therapy: Value in Everyday Practice."