Hematologic Cancers
A combination of fludarabine, pixantrone, dexamethasone, and rituximab (FPD-R) achieved major durable responses in patients with relapsed or refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) in a single-arm phase 1 dose-escalation study. The study identified a dose of 120 mg/m2pixantrone as the recommended dose for this regimen. The overall response rate with this regimen was 89%, and the regimen was well tolerated with no grade 3/4 cardiovascular adverse events. Grade 3/4 lymphopenia occurred, however, in 89% of patients and leukopenia in 79%.
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Patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) receive unnecessarily high-dose levels of chemotherapy, according to Dr Bob Löwenberg, professor of Hematology at the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, The Netherlands at the 16th Congress of the European Hematology Association.
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Treatment with a hybridoma-derived autologous tumor immunoglobulin (Ig) idiotype (Id) vaccine extended disease-free survival (DFS) by 14 months in treatment-naive patients with advanced stage follicular lymphoma achieving complete response (CR) or CR unconfirmed (CRu) after chemotherapy, in a double-blind multicenter controlled phase 3 trial. Subgroup analysis identified that patients with the IgM heavy chain isotype and therefore an IgM-Id vaccine, had greater time to relapse than patient with the IgG isotype and IgG-Id vaccine. Read More ›
CHICAGO—Among patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in the Evaluating Nilotinib Efficacy and Safety in Clinical Trials-Newly Diagnosed Patients (ENESTnd) study, major molecular response (MMR) rates with nilotinib remain superior to those with imatinib after follow-up extended to a median of 18.5 months. Read More ›
One third of patients with newly diagnosed, advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who received the combination of bendamustine and rituximab achieved a complete response, according to researchers from the German CLL Study Group.
Read More ›Although thrombocytopenia is a common problem in patients with cancer, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is relatively rare and is difficult to treat when duration exceeds 6 months. ITP can be either acute (duration ≤6 months) or chronic, can occur in both adults and children, and can be primary or secondary to another disorder, including the malignancy.
Read More ›Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is characterized by the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), which is formed by genetic exchange between chromosomes 9 and 22 and codes for the pathogenic tyrosine kinase BCR-ABL.1-3 Historically, therapeutic interventions for CML have included busulfan, hydroxyurea, interferon-a, and stem cell transplantation.4 These therapies vary greatly in tolerability, toxicity, and efficacy. Read More ›
In the first head-to-head comparison of targeted oral tyrosine kinase inhibitors as initial treatment for early-stage chronic myeloid leukemia (CML), molecular and cytogenetic remissions were more common with nilotinib compared with imatinib, the previous standard for treating early-stage CML, said Giuseppe Saglio, MD.
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