Hematologic Cancers

The best strategy for management of low-tumor-burden follicular lymphoma (FL) following response to induction therapy is controversial. The phase 3 RESORT study compared maintenance rituximab therapy versus rituximab retreatment at disease progression, and results suggest that retreatment is the preferred approach. The study was presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology. The strategies achieved a similar time to treatment failure (TTTF) in this FL patient population, with no difference in quality of life or anxiety at 12 months. Read More ›

An investigational oral agent targeting the B-cell receptor achieved high rates of remission with little toxicity in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) refractory to at least 2 previous treatments, according to results from a phase 2 study presented at the 53rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH).

In 2011, the American Cancer Society projected there would be 20,520 cases of newly diagnosed multiple myeloma (MM) and 10,610 deaths from the disease that year.¹ MM is an incurable hematologic cancer marked by great heterogeneity, in terms of its biology and clinical course. Morbidity and survival rates vary widely, even in the age of novel, molecularly based targeted therapies. Many factors account for differences in prognoses among patients with MM, including genomic aberrations in the plasma cells of the myeloma neoplasm. Read More ›

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a group of closely related hematologic malignancies that arise from abnormal development and function of the body’s bone marrow cells. Primary myelofibrosis (PMF), polycythemia vera (PV), and essential thrombocythemia (ET) comprise the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-negative MPNs.¹ Myelofibrosis (MF) can arise on its own, which is called PMF, or it can result from the progression of other MPNs, such as postpolycythemia vera MF (PPV-MF) and postessential throm bocythemia MF (PET-MF).¹

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CHICAGO—Decitabine extends overall survival and improves response rates compared with standard therapies in the treatment of older patients with newly diagnosed acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), said Xavier G. Thomas, MD, PhD.

With 2 treatment regimens for advanced Hodgkin lymphoma equivalent in their long-term effectiveness, one regimen’s less severe side-effect profile may play a role in treatment choice, according to study results from the Gruppo Italiano di Terapie Innovative nei Linfomi and the Intergruppo Italiano Linfomi.