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Hematologic Malignancies

A pediatric regimen achieves superior outcomes compared with adult regimens in adolescents and young adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Several studies have already shown this outcome, and a multicenter phase 2 study presented at ASH 2015 adds further confirmatory evidence in support of this approach. The trial enrolled patients with ALL aged 18 to 50 years; other trials evaluating “pediatric” or “pediatric-inspired” regimens had an upper age limit of 30 or 40 years.
Although the cost of treating newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma is greatly increased with the use of 3 drugs, 2-drug regimens should no longer be considered adequate, according to new data presented at ASH 2015.
Monoclonal antibodies targeting PD-1 may be effective in multiple myeloma, according to early data from 2 clinical trials on pembrolizumab (Keytruda) presented at ASH 2015.
In patients with B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL), the addition of rituximab (Rituxan) to chemotherapy significantly improved event-free survival in a large European study.
Traditional myeloablative conditioning remains the standard of care for preparing patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) for transplant, according to a randomized trial from the Blood and Marrow Transplant Clinical Trials Network (BMT CTN). The study, presented as a late-breaker at ASH 2015, was halted after a reduced-­intensity conditioning (RIC) regimen proved less effective.

Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) had no drop-off in efficacy with an anthracycline-free regimen that also reduced the long-term risk of cardiotoxicity, reported Andre Baruchel, MD, PhD, Chief of Pediatric Hematology, Robert Debré University Hospital, Paris, France.

Induction therapy without daunorubicin (Cerubidine) led to a 5-year event-free survival (EFS) rate of almost 97%, slightly better than the rate observed in children who received conventional induction that included the anthracycline agent.

A long-standing treatment standard for indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) has fallen victim to the chopping block, so to speak, at least in Germany.

The use of the cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan), doxorubicin (Adriamycin), vincristine (Oncovin), and prednisone (Deltasone; CHOP) regimen with or without rituximab (Rituxan; R-CHOP) has declined rapidly with the emergence of bendamustine (Treanda), which is used either alone or with ri­tuximab.


Results 1 - 7 of 7
  • Rheumatology Practice Management
  • American Health & Drug Benefits
  • Value-Based Cancer Care
  • Value-Based Care in Myeloma
  • Value-Based Care in Neurology