Leukemia and Lymphoma

The approval extends the use of bortezomib beyond relapsed and refractory patients.

Sunesis Pharmaceuticals announced the failure of a phase 3 study Monday morning. The company's experimental drug vosaroxin did not extend survival of elderly patients with advanced acute myeloid leukemia compared to a placebo.

Following Kadcyla, NICE has now rejected another drug from Roche: Gazyvaro for CLL, citing ambiguities in the company's filing and the high cost.

The recommendation to the EMA came soon after Zydiga (idelalisib) was approved in the US.

New trial data confirms its use as standard therapy for CLL.

HIV-positive individuals are not usually enrolled in clinical trials, resulting in a knowledge-gap on their treatment options.

The drug has been approved for use in patient's with relapsed disease.

Breakthrough Designation Reinforces Significant Unmet Need in the Treatment of This Highly Aggressive Cancer

Patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who have received 8 or more CT scans have a 2-fold risk for secondary primary malignancies, new research shows.

A physician-scientist who developed a personalized immunotherapy for leukemia using patients' own T cells is the recipient of the 2014 Taubman Prize for Excellence in Translational Medical Science, awarded by the A. Alfred Taubman Medical Research Institute at the University of Michigan Medical School.

Velcade (bortezomib), developed by Millenium Pharmaceuticals, is a proteasome inhibitor that is currently approved for the treatment of multiple myeloma and relapsed mantle cell lymphoma. Several abstracts were presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology this year for its use in other indications.

ABT-199, the result of a collaboration between AbbVie and Genentech, is a selective, potent, orally available BCL-2 inhibitor. The drug is being developed in collaboration by the two companies for acute myelogenous leukemia and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

A new chemotherapy drug (alisertib or MLN8237) being investigated for its potency against two types of cancer was found by scientists to be effective in about one-third of the 58 patients who participated in a phase I study.

Trials conducted at the Abramson Cancer Center among others have identified the potential of an antimalarial agent, hydroxychloroquine, in stabilizing aggressive cancers.

EU's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP)supported the use of Gazyvaro based on the phase III CLL11 study, wherein treatment with Gazyvaro (obinutuzumab) plus chlorambucil significantly reduced the risk of disease worsening or death by 86% and increased survival time for previously untreated CLL patients compared to those who received treatment with chlorambucil alone.

AstraZeneca's Phase III pipeline is growing ahead of plan, chief executive Pascal Soriot told a recent media briefing, and cancer drugs make up a major chunk of the pipeline.

Those with chronic illnesses such as leukemia, hepatitis C, and multiple sclerosis may face a significant increase in their out-of-pocket expenses for specialty drugs. This is because payers are replacing fixed-dollar copayments with coinsurance rates that require patients to contribute a higher percentage of the cost for their specialty medications.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday granted accelerated approval for the expanded use of ibrutinib, marketed as Imbruvica, for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients who have previously received at least one therapy. The therapy is notable for its relative lack of toxic effects.

When it comes to managing chronic conditions and rare disease, the cost of treatment can be astronomical.

This week AJMC is covering session highlights from the PBMI Annual Drug Benefit conference.

Strategies that identify new uses for existing drugs have grown in popularity in recent years as a way of quickly developing new disease therapies. Zebrafish models are cost-effective platforms for rapidly conducting drug screens as well as basic stem cell, genetic, cancer and developmental research.

The coming year will be one for those who have beaten cancer to develop survivorship plans, with the Commission on Cancer to require planning by treatment centers starting in 2015.

Treating lymphoma today starts with an understanding of what is being treated, and the revolution in genetic profiling lets clinicians do that with more precision than ever.

New therapies to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) will receive plenty of attention this week at the 55th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in New Orleans. At an education session that opened the meeting Saturday, a physician with the Mayo Clinic made it clear that cost considerations are a reality for many older patients.