VJHemOnc Podcast

In this roundtable discussion, chaired by Paolo Ghia, MD, PhD, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy; Susan O’Brien, MD, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA; Lydia Scarfò, MD, Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milano, Italy and Othman Al-Sawaf, MD, University Hospital of Cologne, Cologne, Germany, review the most exciting updates in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) from the 2021 European Hematology Association (EHA) and International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML) meetings, including the latest data from the RESONATE-2, CLL14, MURANO and ELEVATE-RR trials, as well as talking on second-generation BTKs and fixed-duration therapy.

The post The CLL Sessions: highlights from EHA and ICML 2021 appeared first on VJHemOnc.

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a group of myeloid clonal disorders caused by a defect in bone marrow, which hinders their ability to produce healthy and normal functioning red blood cells. The heterogeneous nature of MDS means therapeutic approaches need to be specifically tailored to each subtype. Current treatment options for MDS include allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, which is the only curative form of treatment and available to only a small population of patients, whilst for most patients, non-curative treatment such as iron chelation and growth factors, lenalidomide and hypomethylating agents are the only available options. Although progress has been made in understanding the mechanisms which underpin MDS, few novel treatments have been developed. 

In this podcast, Valeria Santini, MD, University of Florence, Florence, Italy; Andrew Wei, MBBS, PhD, Alfred Hospital and Monash University, Melbourne, Australia; and Sangmin Lee, MD, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, discuss the latest research on treatment for MDS, as presented at this year’s Congress of the European Hematology Association (EHA 2021).  

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Recent progress in the field of immunotherapy presents an exciting alternative to standard chemotherapy treatments for patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. However, at present, durable responses are only achieved in a minority of patients. Accumulating evidence suggests that the microenvironment plays a critical role in the regulation of immunotherapeutic agents. Furthering our understanding of this relationship may help to enhance the outcomes of current immunotherapy regimens and improve the development of novel immunotherapies.

In this podcast, Patricia Pérez Galán of the IDIBAPS University Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain, Stephen Ansell of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, Frederick Locke of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL, and Francisco Hernandez-Ilizaliturri of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, NY, talk on the impact and role of the tumor microenvironment on outcomes with immunotherapy in patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

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The introduction of many novel drug classes and therapies has resulted in significant improvements in overall survival outcomes for patients with multiple myeloma over the past decade. Despite this, many patients become relapsed or refractory to currently available therapies and as such, novel agents and combination regimens remain key to improving the outcomes of patients in high-risk subgroups. Immunotherapies, such as monoclonal antibodies, and chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies have become increasingly prominent in the multiple myeloma space, with the first CAR-T therapy for myeloma receiving FDA approval in March 2021. However, with such a broad range of treatments now available, there is debate on the optimal sequencing of therapies.

In this roundtable discussion, chaired by Noopur Raje, MD, from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, Nina Shah, MD, of the UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, Yi Lin, MD, PhD, from the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, and Katja Weisel, MD, from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany, review the most exciting updates from the 2021 European Hematology Association (EHA) and American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) meetings, including the latest data from the MAIA, FORTE and Cassiopeia trials, as well as talking on novel agents and CAR-T therapies.

The post The Myeloma Sessions: key highlights from EHA and ASCO 2021 appeared first on VJHemOnc.

The breakthrough discovery of upregulation of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway as the driving force behind myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) has led to a broadened range of treatment options across the spectrum of MPNs. Myelofibrosis is one of the most common types of MPN and many clinical trials are exploring novel drugs and combinations for its treatment. The JAK inhibitor ruxolitinib became the first JAK inhibitor to receive FDA approval for the treatment of myelofibrosis in 2011, and more recently the FDA granted approval to fedratinib for patients with intermediate-2 or high-risk myelofibrosis.

In this podcast, Srdan Verstovsek, MD, from the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Ruben Mesa, MD, from the UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, San Antonio, TX, and Naveen Pemmaraju, MD, of the MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuss the key updates from clinical trials investigating novel therapies and treatment regimens for patients with myelofibrosis, which were presented at the European Hematology Association (EHA) 2021 meeting.

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