CLINICAL NEWS
Approximately 115,000 U.S. patients
are living with CLL and SLL, and nearly
16,000 patients are newly diagnosed each
year. As these conditions are generally
thought to be incurable, identifying new
treatments is particularly important.
After 45-months of follow-up, 91
percent of all patients who received singleagent ibrutinib (420 mg) achieved an
overall response, with 14 percent achieving a complete response. As seen in the
TABLE, rates of complete response were
higher in the treatment-naïve group than
in the relapsed/refractory group. Investigators presented the results of the phase
I/IIb trial, though the study is ongoing.
While the median response duration and
progression-free survival (PFS) had not yet
been reached at the time of reporting these
findings, in a landmark analysis, 30-month
PFS and overall survival rates were high
in both cohorts – indicating long-lasting
responses with single-agent ibrutinib.
CLL and SLL
are generally
thought to be
incurable, making
the identification
of new treatment
options – such as
single-agent ibrutinib – particularly
important.
Updates on Novel Treatments for
Leukemia
Three sessions at the American Association for Cancer
Research Annual Meeting focused on promising,
novel treatment options for
patients with various forms
of leukemia.
In the first study, a latebreaking abstract presented
by Yoko Ogawara, PhD, of
the division of hematological
malignancy at the National
Cancer Research Institute
in Tokyo, Japan, researchers
tested the validity of mutant
isocitrate dehydrogenase
(IDH) enzymes as targets for acute
myeloid leukemia (AML) therapy.
Using mouse models of mutant
IDH-dependent AML, Dr. Ogawara
and colleagues determined that four
mutations are necessary for induction of AML: IDH2/R140Q, NPMc,
SNMT3A/R882H, and FLT3/ITD. All
four mutations must be present, they
noted: When only three of the mutant
genes were transduced, myeloproliferative neoplasms, rather than AML,
more frequently resulted. To test their
findings, the investigators then conditionally deleted IDH2/R140Q from
the AML mice; doing this blocked
2-HG production and resulted in the
Attendees at the AACR Poster Session
day course. Dr. Roboz and colleagues
enrolled 52 older patients with AML
(median age = 77 years) into the current study, with guadec