July 2016
Volume 2, Issue 7
This issue looks at online ratings for doctors, features coverage from the 2016 ASCO Annual Meeting, and debates the use of FLT3 inhibitors in older patients with AML.
Table of Contents
July 2016
What to prescribe for a patient with newly diagnosed CML who lives outside of...
Here's how readers responded to a You Make the Call question about a patient with newly diagnosed CML who lives outside of the United States.
Disclaimer:...
Welcome to the Era of Shared Decision-Making
As health-care delivery continues to evolve, moving away from the “paternalistic” model of medicine, the role of the advanced practice professional (APP) in caring...
Magical Thinking
Okay, I confess. I exhibit magical thinking. I believe in jinxes, in woo woo, and in all of the medical lore and superstitions I...
July 2016
Remembering Ronald L. Nagel and Runqing Lu, NCCN Elects New Board of Directors, and...
Ronald L. Nagel, MD (1936–2016)
Ronald (Ron) L. Nagel, MD, was born in Santiago and graduated from the University of Chile Medical School in 1960....
ASH and ACP Present Toolkit to Ensure Quality of Care in the Transition from...
ASH and ACP Present Toolkit to Ensure Quality of Care in the Transition from Pediatric to Adult Practices
The American College of Physicians (ACP) –...
July 2016
Sawdust Memories: Louis M. Pelus, PhD
In this edition, Louis M. Pelus, PhD, discusses woodworking and his recent labor of love: building a crib for his grandson.
When did your interest...
FLT3 Inhibitors in Older Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia: More Questions Than Answers?
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) affects primarily older adults (with a median age of 67 years at diagnosis), and management of the disease in this...
How Do You Rank?
Online physician-rating websites have been around for more than a decade, but many physicians and patients still have questions about how to use them.
The...
July 2016
Understanding Light Chain Amyloidosis
Amyloidosis is a rare disease that occurs due to a buildup of protein in different vital organs throughout the body. The disease is often...
What to prescribe for a patient with newly diagnosed CML who lives outside of...
This month, Jason Gotlib, MD, MS, answers a question about what to prescribe for a patient with newly diagnosed chronic myeloid leukemia who lives...
July 2016
FDA Grants CPX-351 Breakthrough Therapy Designation for AML
The FDA granted breakthrough therapy designation for CPX-351 for the treatment of adult patients with therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related...
FDA Approves Nivolumab for the Treatment of Classic Hodgkin Lymphoma
The FDA approved nivolumab for the treatment of classic Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) for patients who have relapsed or progressed after autologous hematopoietic cell transplantation...
FDA Grants Priority Review to Blinatumomab for Pediatric ALL
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted priority review to blinatumomab for the treatment of pediatric and adolescent patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph−)...
ABIM Announces Plans to Offer Alternatives to the 10-Year MOC Exam
Beginning in January 2018, the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) will offer physicians a new Maintenance of Certification (MOC) assessment option. Participating physicians...
Adding Liposomal Doxorubicin to Bortezomib Does Not Improve Survival Compared with Bortezomib Alone
In a 2007 interim analysis of a phase III randomized trial, the combination of bortezomib and pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD), compared with bortezomib monotherapy,...
Genetic Mutations, Changes in Circulating Tumor DNA Levels Predict Early Response to Panobinostat for...
Treatment with panobinostat, an oral pan-histone deacetylase inhibitor (HDI), led to durable responses in a subset of patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL),...
CLL-IPI: A New International Staging System for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
A new prognostic model combining genetic, biochemical, and clinical parameters can enable a more targeted management of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in both clinical...
Pooled Analysis Shows Daratumumab Monotherapy Is Safe, Effective in Heavily Pretreated Multiple Myeloma
According to a pooled analysis of the GEN501 and SIRIUS studies – the basis for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s accelerated approval of...
Examining the Prevalence of Superficial Vein Thrombosis and Concomitant Major Thromboembolic Events
While it has been recognized that patients who develop superficial vein thrombosis (SVT) may be at considerable risk for developing concomitant deep vein thrombosis...
Treatment with Danazol Restores Telomere Length in Patients with Telomere Diseases
Danazol, a synthetic sex hormone with androgenic properties, preserves telomere length in patients with diseases associated with telomere dysfunction, according to the results of...
Double-Unit Cord Blood Transplantation Not Superior to Single-Unit in Reducing Risk of Transplant Failure...
The strategy of using two unrelated cord blood (UCB) units is no better than the standard single-unit approach in preventing hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT)-related...
STRATUS MM-010 Trial: Pomalidomide Plus Low-Dose Dexamethasone in Relapsed/Refractory Multiple Myeloma
There is an unmet need for relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (MM) patients who have failed treatment with newer agents (e.g., lenalidomide and bortezomib), as overall...
July 2016
Examining Venetoclax Combinations in Older Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are unable to receive standard 7+3 induction chemotherapy have limited treatment options. Selective targeting of the...
Pacritinib for Myelofibrosis: Follow-Up from PERSIST-1
Results from the phase III PERSIST-1 study presented at the 2015 ASCO Meeting showed that the JAK2 inhibitor pacritinib led to more effective spleen...
Risk for Venous Thromboembolism Changes Throughout Multiple Myeloma Disease Course
Nearly one in three patients will experience venous thromboembolism (VTE) within the first year of a multiple myeloma (MM) diagnosis, but new research presented...
Acalabrutinib Safe in Patients with Previously Untreated Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Preliminary results from a phase I/II study of the second-generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor acalabrutinib in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia...
Study Highlights How the FDA is Improving Expanded Access
When physicians believe that a patient with cancer may benefit from an agent that has not yet been approved by the U.S. Food and...
Triplet Combination of Daratumumab, Bortezomib, and Dexamethasone Improves Multiple Myeloma Survival
In the pivotal, randomized, controlled, phase III CASTOR study, adding daratumumab to bortezomib and dexamethasone (DVd) extended progression-free survival (PFS) and time to progression...
