Latest in Leukemia and Lymphoma: AYA Overall Survival and Rituximab Responses

Younger Age, Higher Mortality Risk Linked in CLL

Age impacts overall survival (OS) in adolescents and young adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), reported OncLive^®.

The HR for OS when comparing patients younger than 30 years with patients 35 to 29 years was 1.72 (95% CI, 1.10-2.70), and when comparing patients younger than 30 years with patients aged 30 to 34 years, it was 2.33 (95% CI, 0.83-6.25).

Age was also associated with the time to developing Richter transformation, in which B-cell CLL transforms into a fast-growing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. For patients younger than age 30, the probability of being free from Richter transformation 5 years after diagnosis was 86% compared with 92% for patients aged 30 to 34 years and 99% for patients aged 35 to 39 years.

Read more at OncLive®.

Vemurafenib Combination Treatment Leads to Complete Response

Patients with relapsed or refractory hairy-cell leukemia (HCL) who were treated with vemurafenib plus rituximab had durable complete responses (CRs), according to Cancer Network^®.

The phase 2 study enrolled 30 patients with HCL who had received a median of 3 prior therapies and examined the safety and efficacy of the chemotherapy-free, nonmyelotoxic regimen of vemurafenib in combination with rituximab. The primary end point was CR at the end of treatment.

The patients received 960 mg of vemurafenib twice daily for 8 weeks plus 375 mg per square meter of body-surface area of rituximab administered concurrently and sequentially for 8 doses over 18 weeks. The majority (86.6%) of patients experienced a CR, and in this group were 10 patients who were refractory to chemotherapy, 5 who were refractory to rituximab, and 7 patients previously treated with BRAF inhibitors.

Learn more about the study at Cancer Network®.

Partial, Complete Response Seen With Lutetium Lilotomab Satetraxetan

A small cohort of patients with follicular lymphoma treated with lutetium lilotomab satetraxetan plus rituximab in the second-line setting had a high rate of CR, according to preliminary data from a phase 1b study.

The Archer-1 trial is ongoing, and the researchers were able to review data on 7 patients. All of the patients had at least a partial response and 5 patients (71.4%) had a CR. Five of the total responses have lasted at least 2 years since administration of lutetium lilotomab satetraxetan.

“We are encouraged by the results in this small phase 1 study in second-line FL patients. Both the overall safety of this combination and the preliminary signs of efficacy are promising,” Peter Braun, Nordic Nanovector CEO, said in a press release. “We look at this study as an additional building block in our overall strategy to develop Betalutin for difficult to treat hematological tumors. Our near-term focus remains very much on completing PARADIGME in [third-line] FL and delivering top line 3-month data by the end of 2021.”

Learn more the preliminary results at Cancer Network®.