Leukemia and Lymphoma

During laboratory experiments, while growing these leukemic cells, the authors observed that some of the cancer cells in culture were changing shape and size into what looked like macrophages. Subsequent experiments confirmed that by manipulating some of the transcription factors, these human cancer cells could be transformed into macrophages, which can engulf and digest cancer cells and pathogens.

Improved survival without disease progression prompted independent reviewers to unblind the study comparing Imbruvica against a placebo, in combination with bendamustine and rituximab.

The recommendation has not come easy for Roche. Back in October 2014, NICE had rejected Gazyravo based on inconsistencies in the filing, which were then addressed by the drug manufacturer. Subsequently, NICE struck a deal with Roche to provide the drug to NHS at a reduced price.

AbbVie will spend about $21 billion to buy leukemia drugmaker Pharmacyclics in its first major deal attempt since walking away from a $55 billion takeover of Shire last fall.

The study, conducted in 2 separate patient cohorts at St. Jude Children's Hospital and the Children's Oncology Group and published in the The Journal of the American Medical Association, found that children with gene variants in the CEP72 gene were more sensitive to vincristine-induced peripheral neuropathy.

In it's report, "Clinical Cancer Advances 2015: ASCO's Annual Report on Progress Against Cancer," published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 4 newly approved treatments for CLL were predicted to have a dramatic impact on patients with the disease.

Actor and singer Charles Esten, whose daughter was diagnosed with leukemia when she was 2-and-a-half, shares the challenging and painful experiences of battling the disease.

At an education session at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting, Christopher R. Flowers, MD, MS, discussed current thinking in the use of routine imaging for patients who have achieved a long-term complete response in non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Blincyto, which was considered a promising immunotherapy with a novel mechanism of action, was approved 5 months prior to its PDUFA date.

The NIH-funded study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, identified mutations that are harbored early and could be potential early-onset biomarkers for detection.

The European Medicines Agency granted an orphan status to ATIR, a T-cell immunotherapy-based medicinal product being developed to treat blood cancers.

The paper, published in Nature, has identified a "switch" that can be inhibited to restrict tumor growth.

The regimen, based on reprogramming the patient's immune T cells to attack the cancer cells, led to the disappearance of cancer in 90 percent of patients, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Opdivo (nivolumab), which was approved in Japan in July 2014, is being globally developed for evaluation in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), melanoma, renal cell carcinoma (RCC), head and neck cancer, glioblastoma, as well as NHL.

The new BiTE antibody technology developed by the company can simultaneously engage 2 different targets, which can help recruit T-cells to malignant cells, and will be evaluated in ALL patients.

The approval extends the use of bortezomib beyond relapsed and refractory patients.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals announced the failure of a phase 3 study Monday morning. The company's experimental drug vosaroxin did not extend survival of elderly patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia compared to a placebo.

Following Kadcyla, NICE has now rejected another drug from Roche: Gazyvaro for CLL, citing ambiguities in the company's filing and the high cost.

The recommendation to the EMA came soon after Zydiga (idelalisib) was approved in the US.

New trial data confirms its use as standard therapy for CLL.

HIV-positive individuals are not usually enrolled in clinical trials, resulting in a knowledge-gap on their treatment options.

The drug has been approved for use in patient's with relapsed disease.

Breakthrough Designation Reinforces Significant Unmet Need in the Treatment of This Highly Aggressive Cancer

Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who have received 8 or more CT scans have a 2-fold risk for secondary primary malignancies, new research shows.

A physician-scientist who developed a personalized immunotherapy for leukemia using patients' own T cells is the recipient of the 2014 Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science, awarded by the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Velcade (bortezomib), developed by Millenium Pharmaceuticals, is a proteasome inhibitor that is currently approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma and relapsed mantle cell lymphoma. Several abstracts were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology this year for its use in other indications.

ABT-199, the result of a collaboration between AbbVie and Genentech, is a selective, potent, orally available BCL-2 inhibitor. The drug is being developed in collaboration by the two companies for acute myelogenous leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

A new chemotherapy drug (alisertib or MLN8237) being investigated for its potency against two types of cancer was found by scientists to be effective in about one-third of the 58 patients who participated in a phase I study.