Mary Caffrey

Extended follow-up data presented at the American Society of Hematology show the advantage seen a year ago has held up for the second-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor.

Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD, director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Center of the Division of Hematologic Malignancies at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, previewed her presentation of extended follow-up data from the phase 3 ALPINE trial and other studies of interest to CLL specialists at the 2023 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting.

The 65th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, which runs Friday through Tuesday in the San Diego Convention Center, will showcase the growing number of treatment choices in blood cancers and disorders.

The past year has offered new hope for patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes. Besides imetelstat, which has an FDA deadline for action of June 2024, the agency approved luspatercept, which has a different mechanism of action.

The therapy is already approved for certain patients with relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.

Investigators from several medical centers in Japan were surprised to find that women with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) had a survival advantage from a 7-day dosing schedule, but that benefit compared with a reduced schedule was not seen in men.

Desmoid tumors are noncancerous growths that appear in connective tissue, most often on the arms, legs, and abdomen. Aggressive tumors must be treated with surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy to keep them from growing into nearby organs, which can make them life threatening. They can cause pain and disfigurement, and they can reduce functioning and quality of life.

An online survey of patients from multiple countries has shed light on their challenges in getting proper care for ovarian cancer.

Given the likelihood of MDS to progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the authors state, “There are certain settings where ‘AML-like’ therapies are appropriate in MDS, particularly given our evolving understanding of the overlapping biology of these malignancies.”

Lucio Gordan, MD, president and managing physician of Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute, discusses recently updated clinical guidelines from the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) in multiple myeloma, which specifically discuss disease staging and risk stratification and advise clinicians on how to address 1q abnormalities.

Coverage from the Institute for Value-Based Medicine session with Florida Cancer Specialists & Research Institute.

The discussion, "Understanding Biomarkers and the Role They Play in Oncology," came during the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit, held October 23-24 in Reston, Virginia.

There is bipartisan support in the Congress for the Community Oncology Alliance's (COA) key agenda items, with hope that some will pass by year’s end.

Community oncology practices are witnessing a new dynamic in which more Medicare-eligible patients are still covered by commercial insurance, according to speakers at the Community Oncology Alliance Payer Exchange Summit, held October 23-24, 2023.

The authors discussed a polymorphism of the LEP gene associated not only with cancer, but also with chronic diseases including obesity and diabetes, offering them a reason to look into the relationship between LEP and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).

Investigators evaluated 70 patients in a retrospective study.

The rare disease Fanconi anemia is an inherited bone marrow disorder linked to birth defects that leads to failure of bone marrow, the spongy material inside the bones where stem cells develop.

The survey, completed over 2 weeks in September, follows a similar one released in June.

Katalin Karikó, PhD, and Drew Weissman, MD, PhD, were cited "for their discoveries concerning nucleoside base modifications that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19."

The final day of the European Society of Cardiology 2023 Congress featured a joint session with JAMA Cardiology, “Achieving Global Health Equity: A New Challenge in Heart Failure.”

Coverage from the July 25, 2023, session of the Institute for Value-Based Medicine®, presented by The American Journal of Managed Care® in partnership with Emory's Winship Cancer Institute.

Coverage from a symposium, “Weight loss as a new therapeutic target in HFpEF: dawn of a new era?” that took place August 27 during the European Society of Cardiology 2023 Congress.

The authors found shifting patterns in the effects of obesity, alcohol, and smoking on atrial fibrillation.

Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, presented the analysis based on patient data from the Baylor, Scott, and White health system during the final hours of the European Society of Cardiology 2023 Congress, which concluded Monday.

Results from the FRAIL-AF study, being presented at the European Society of Cardiology 2023 Congress, surprised the investigators.

Study investigators offered updated data from 2 key trials presented in the past year: CLEAR Outcomes in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and OCEAN(a)-DOSE in lipoprotein (a).

A symposium at the European Society of Cardiology 2023 Congress covered the spectrum from diet and exercise, to medical therapy, to evidence on newer generation stents.

Javed Butler, MD, MPH, MBA, said "hopefully" results from the EMPACT-MI trial should be available within the next few months.

Patients who took the therapy lost weight and recorded some of the best gains in quality of life and physical improvement ever seen in this type of a study.