January 2021 Annual Meeting Edition
Volume 7, Issue 2
This issue features highlights from the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting, a look at doctor-patient gifting customs around the world, and more.
Table of Contents
January 2021 Issue
There’s No Crime Like the Presents
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, and, although the climate seems to be working constantly against it, I hope some of you...
January 2021 Issue
FDA Approves Ponatinib for Chronic-Phase CML
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the supplemental new drug application for ponatinib to treat adults with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia...
Large Meta-Analysis Confirms Predictive Value of MRD Negativity in Myeloma
Achievement of measurable residual disease (MRD) negativity is associated with significant improvements in progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in patients with multiple...
Selinexor Combination Approved for Patients with Multiple Myeloma
The FDA has approved selinexor in combination with bortezomib and dexamethasone (Vd) for the treatment of adults with multiple myeloma (MM) who have received...
Azacitidine Maintenance Fails to Improve Post-Transplant Outcomes in High-Risk AML and MDS
Maintenance treatment with single-agent azacitidine at a dose of 32 mg/m2 daily for five days did not lead to improved survival in patients with...
Registry Analysis Finds Patients With Hematologic Malignancies Are Highly Vulnerable to COVID-19
In an analysis of data from the first 250 patients enrolled in the ASH Research Collaborative (ASH RC) COVID-19 Registry for Hematology, researchers found...
Discontinuing Eculizumab is Safe and Feasible in Patients With Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome
Discontinuation of anti-C5 agent eculizumab is feasible and safe in patients with atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS), particularly in the 40% to 60% of...
Rethinking Autoimmune Neutropenia in Children
Authors of a registry analysis published in Blood Advances have identified two distinct autoimmune neutropenia entities in children who present with apparent primary autoimmune...
Devimistat Receives FDA Fast Track Designation for AML
The FDA has granted fast track designation to devimistat for the treatment of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), clearing its manufacturer, Rafael Pharmaceuticals, to begin...
NIH’s ACTIV Trial Suspends Enrollment of Critically Ill Patients With COVID-19
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it is pausing enrollment of patients with severe COVID-19 in three trials that are evaluating anticoagulants...
January 2021 Issue
Loss of STK11/LKB1 Drives Progression to Leukemia in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms
Results from a CRISPR/Cas9 screening study suggest that loss of STK11 promotes progression to leukemia in patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), according to findings...
FLAG-IDA Plus Venetoclax Associated With High Response Rates in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Adding venetoclax to fludarabine, cytarabine, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor, and idarubucin (FLAG-IDA) translated into high response rates across subgroups of patients with acute myeloid leukemia...
Examining Immune Response in Patients with Hematologic Malignancy After COVID-19 Infection
Patients with a history of a hematologic malignancy who survive COVID-19 infection have similar immune responses against the virus following infection compared with people...
Phase III Trial Supports Efficacy of Subcutaneous Daratumumab in Relapsed/Refractory Myeloma
Patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) who were treated with a combination of subcutaneous daratumumab plus pomalidomide-dexamethasone (Pd) had a 37% lower risk of...
CARTITUDE-1: Myeloma CAR T-Cell Therapy Produces Deep and Durable Responses
A single low-dose infusion of ciltacabtagene autoleucel (cilta-cel), an autologous chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, was safe and associated with early, deep, and...
BTK Inhibitor LOXO-305 Shows Promise in Previously Treated Mantle Cell Lymphoma
In the phase I/II BRUIN trial that included patients with previously treated B-cell malignancies – particularly mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) – treatment with the...
Avatrombopag Demonstrates Efficacy in ITP, Regardless of Prior Treatment
Treatment with the thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-RA) avatrombopag led to durable platelet count responses in patients with immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), with responses among both...
Big Ideas on Burnout: Trainees Propose System-Wide Solutions
The Special Symposium on Quality at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting tackled an often-overlooked driver of quality of patient care: burnout. Physician burnout –...
Does High-Dose Methotrexate Protect the Central Nervous System in High-Risk DLBCL?
A retrospective study found that treatment with high-dose methotrexate did not lower the risk of central nervous system (CNS) relapse in patients with high-risk...
