AURORA, CO – Patients with melanoma who are refractory to or ineligible for immune checkpoint blockade have an urgent need for effective treatments. A report in the journal Cancers (Basel) noted that includes patients who lack BRAF-V600E/K mutations and is often the...
Prognosis Beginning to Improve for T-cell Lymphoma Patients
LONG BEACH, CA – Among hematological malignancies, T-cell lymphomas have an extremely poor prognosis. A new review suggested that might be changing with unusual paths to cure. An article in the Lancet Haematology pointed out that, over the last three decades, little...
Discovery Explains Neurotoxicity With Certain CAR T Cell Immunotherapy
PHILADELPHIA — A new discovery might help explain the cause of neurotoxicity in patients undergoing CD19 directed CAR T cell immunotherapy. A report in the journal Cell discussed how new research uncovered the previously unknown presence of CD19 — a B cell molecule...
Maintenance Rituximab An Option in Some Follicular Lymphoma Cases
SALT LAKE CITY, UT – Since the release of the National LymphoCare Study nearly 10 years ago, few studies have described real-world practice patterns and clinical outcomes in patients with follicular lymphoma, including the use of maintenance rituximab therapy in the...
Humanized Monoclonal Antibodies Show Promise in Relapsed/Refractory CLL
SACRAMENTO, CA – What are the complement depleting effects of humanized monoclonal antibodies and the impact of complement replacement on treatment response in patients with hard-to-treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia? A small phase 2 trial published in the Journal of...
First Line Ibrutinib Delays Time to Next Treatment for Veterans With CLL
HORSHAM, PA -- Chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma is the most common adult leukemia, accounting for about 37% of all leukemias in the United States. Yet, a new study suggested that limited real-word evidence is available on the outcomes of...
VA Pharmacists Advise on Use of Anticoagulation in Severe COVID-19 Cases
While reports in the literature are increasing about high rates of coagulopathy and venous thromboembolism (VTE) among hospitalized patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), there is little guidance on how to treat it or prevent it.
CLL, Lymphoma Treatments Might Be Effective in Some Melanoma Cases
AURORA, CO – Noting the urgent need to develop treatments for patients with melanoma who are refractory to or ineligible for immune checkpoint blockade, including patients who lack BRAF-V600E/K mutations, a new study suggested some possible options. The report in...
COVID-19 Has Serious Hematological Implications for Many Patients
CHICAGO – Most of the morbidity and mortality seen with COVID-19 involves the lower respiratory track, but the virus also can involve several organ systems and the syndrome. Noting that the novel coronavirus has a wide range of symptoms and manifestations, a report in...
NHL, Some Other Cancers, Reduced With Early ART in HIV-Positive Patients
OAKLAND, CA – Cancer is a significant problem for patients diagnosed with HIV. indicates that earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons living with HIV (PLWH) can reduce cancer incidence, but it has not been clear which cancer types are affected. A...
Promising Options Identified for AML Treatment After Initial Treatment Failure
CHICAGO – Because of limited treatment options after the failure of initial therapy, clinical management of acute myeloid leukemia remains a challenge for clinicians. One area of significant interest, according to a report in the journal Blood, has been therapeutic...
VA Dramatically Reduces ESA Use for Cancer-Related Anemia
COLUMBIA, SC -- Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents were indicated for use in patients with cancer who receive noncurative myelosuppressive chemotherapy, with the intention of mitigating symptoms and side effects to decrease the need for red blood cell transfusions....
Lymphoma Rates Drop With Better Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment at VA
SEATTLE -- High systemic inflammatory activity is suspected to be a major risk determinant of lymphomagenesis, and past epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated a link between rheumatoid arthritis and the incidence of lymphoma. A study in RMD Open -...
Is Radiation Therapy Linked to Second Cancer Diagnoses?
STANFORD, CA – How likely is a second cancer diagnosis after primary cancer treatment with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), or proton beam radiotherapy (PBRT) for lymphoma and other cancers? Researchers from...
Changes in Myelofibrosis Survival at VA
HOUSTON — Myelofibrosis Is a rare disorder in which abnormal blood cells and fibers build up in the bone marrow. It is classified as a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPNs) in which bone marrow cells that produce blood cells develop and function abnormally....
Relapse Remains a Critical Issue in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
MIAMI — Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) APL was first reported and described in Norway in 1957, and is connected to the proliferation of promyelocytes, catastrophic hemorrhagic incidences, and hyper-acute onset. A new review in Oncotarget discusses advances in...
CLL Treatments Shift Significantly at VHA From 2013-2018
DENVER, CO – Since the first novel agent was approved for use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in 2014, how have treatment regimens changed at the VHA? That was the question behind a presentation at the recent 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncologists...
BTK Inhibitors Used in Blood Cancers Show Promise in Treating COVID-19
BOSTON – Observations from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute suggested that Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors used to treat blood cancers might also be effective in controlling “cytokine storms,” the exaggerated immune response associated with COVID-19 in...