Mar 1st, 2021 - For patients suspected of having hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH), bone marrow biopsy is often used to identify the presence of hemophagocytosis and assess for underlying malignancy. However, while bone marrow biopsy is an easily accessible test, there currently are no evidence-based guidelines on the reporting of hemophagocytosis on bone marrow biopsy, noted Caroline Wilson, MBBS, from...

Mar 1st, 2021 - A telemedicine pilot program to triage and expedite the management of patients with iron-deficiency anemia (IDA) who require intravenous (IV) iron allowed clinicians to determine appropriate management rapidly, avoiding the traditional time-consuming consultation process. Results of the pilot program were presented by Mark Chaitowitz, MD, from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, at...

Mar 1st, 2021 - A pair of studies presented at the 2020 American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting analyzed the thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) eltrombopag in two settings: in real-world clinical practice against clinical trials experiences, and against another TPO-RA, avatrombopag. Eltrombopag in Real-World Clinical Practice Since 2010, eltrombopag has been available in Europe for the management o...

Mar 1st, 2021 - According to results from a retrospective analysis of central nervous system (CNS) prophylaxis in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas (NHLs), rates of CNS relapse did not differ according to intrathecal (IT) or intravenous (IV) administration. The analysis, presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting by Victor M. Orellana-Noia, MD, from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, also highlig...

Mar 1st, 2021 - Researchers have created a prognostic index specific to Burkitt lymphoma (BL) that will allow for simplified stratification and comparison of risk distribution in geographically diverse cohorts. Adam J. Olszewski, MD, of Lifespan Cancer Institute at Rhode Island Hospital and the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, presented information on the new prognostic index (BL-IPI) at the 2...

Mar 1st, 2021 - Thiotepa-containing conditioning regimens, including thiotepa/busulfan/cyclophosphamide (TBC) and thiotepa/carmustine (TT-BCNU), were associated with favorable survival outcomes in patients with primary diffuse large B-cell lymphoma of the central nervous system, known as PCNSL, according to results presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. Lead study author Trent Wang, DO, of the Sylvester Com...

Mar 1st, 2021 - Three-quarters of patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma responded to treatment with the B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA)−targeted chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy idecabtagene vicleucel (ide-cel), according to phase I results presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. Cytopenias and cases of cytokine release syndrome (CRS) were common, but generally low-grade, added lea...

Mar 1st, 2021 - Triplet combinations consisting of iberdomide, a cereblon E3 ligase immunomodulatory drug, with dexamethasone and daratumumab (IberDd) or bortezomib and dexamethasone (IberVd) demonstrated favorable tolerability profiles and promising clinical activity in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma (MM), according to findings from a phase I/II trial presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meetin...

Feb 1st, 2021 - Treatment with the oral Syk inhibitor fostamatinib led to “markedly improved” hemoglobin (Hb) levels in patients with warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA), according to updates from a phase II and III trial presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. Lead author Nichola Cooper, MD, from Imperial College London in the U.K., shared these results in a poster presentation. “There are currently no...

Feb 1st, 2021 - Approximately three-quarters of patients with relapsed and/or refractory multiple myeloma (MM) responded to treatment with the bispecific antibody teclistamab, according to results from a phase I trial presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. Presenter Alfred Garfall, MD, from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, noted that the off-the-shelf therapy was “quite wel...

Feb 1st, 2021 - The combination of once-weekly selinexor with bortezomib and dexamethasone (SVd) demonstrated a 30% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death, compared with bortezomib-dexamethasone (Vd) alone, in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM), according to data from the randomized, phase III BOSTON trial. These results, which were published in The Lancet, supported the FDA...

Feb 1st, 2021 - CRISPR-based gene editing techniques may offer curative potential for sickle cell disease (SCD) when used to target Krüppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) mutations, according to an oral abstract presented by Kevin Gillinder, PhD, of Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, during the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. “For years, geneticists have been looking at the idea of reversing the hemoglobin switch – the...

Feb 1st, 2021 - A longitudinal analysis of data from the phase III BELIEVE trial showed that treatment with the activin receptor ligand trap luspatercept was associated with sustained reductions in red blood cell transfusion (RBC) units and fewer transfusion visits in patients with beta thalassemia. These results were presented by Ali T. Taher, MD, PhD, FRCP, of the American University of Beirut, as part of th...

Feb 1st, 2021 - More than three-quarters of patients with higher-risk, treatment-naïve myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) responded to the combination of venetoclax plus azacitidine, according to study results presented during the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting by Jacqueline Garcia, MD, of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. The combination also led to improvements in patient-reported outcomes, such as dyspnea and fatigue...

Feb 1st, 2021 - Inherited thrombophilias are associated with an increased risk of initial and recurrent venous thromboembolism (VTE), but testing for these conditions in the setting of an acute venous or arterial thrombotic event offers little benefit, according to research presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. Other risk factors, such as cancer, hypertension, or smoking, may be more clinically useful for ...

Jan 15th, 2021 - Results from a CRISPR/Cas9 screening study suggest that loss of STK11 promotes progression to leukemia in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), according to findings presented during the plenary session at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. The gene could serve as a potential candidate tumor suppressor gene in patients with post-MPN acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the authors, led by Chris...

Jan 15th, 2021 - Adding venetoclax to fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, and idarubucin (FLAG-IDA) translated into high response rates across subgroups of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to results of a phase Ib/II study presented at the virtual 62nd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition. “In relapsed/refractory AML patients, a remarkable 67% of patients achieved a...

Jan 15th, 2021 - Patients with a history of a hematologic malignancy who survive COVID-19 infection have similar immune responses against the virus following infection compared with people without blood cancers, according to an analysis presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting. However, those diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) who are receiving rituximab appear to have lower rates of seroconversion and a...

Jan 15th, 2021 - Patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) who were treated with a combination of subcutaneous daratumumab plus pomalidomide-dexamethasone (Pd) had a 37% lower risk of disease progression or death, compared with those who received Pd alone, according to results from the phase III APOLLO trial. Meletios Dimopoulos, MD, from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in Greec...

Jan 15th, 2021 - A single low-dose infusion of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), an autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, was safe and associated with early, deep, and durable responses in patients with heavily pretreated multiple myeloma (MM), according to preliminary data from the phase Ib/II CARTITUDE-1 trial. Deepu Madduri, MD, from Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York, presented...