Focus on Lymphoma
The 62nd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition—originally to be held in San Diego—will be held virtually this year from December 5-8, 2020. Attendees will have access to thousands of scientific abstracts highlighting cutting-edge research in hematology in a state-of-the-art virtual exhibit hall. This conference is an opportunity to enhance your practice through educational programs while exploring new research presented by hematologists around the world. Check out highlights from the upcoming conferences to help you make the most of your time at ASH.
New data found that older patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and multiple comorbidities had very high response rates and a clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival when treated with brentuximab vedotin monotherapy or combined with other single agents compared to combination chemotherapy (Abstract 471).
Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is a particularly aggressive B-cell lymphoma that is also the most prevalent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) has proven to be an effective intervention for many patients with relapsed or refractory DLBCL, curing them of their disease.
A new biomarker discovered by a team that includes researchers from Penn Medicine identifies patients with an aggressive form of lymphoma unlikely to respond to the targeted treatment ibrutinib. It’s a clinically actionable finding that will help guide physicians toward the right treatment for patients with activated B-cell diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL) who harbor these newly exposed mutations in the BCL10 gene.
It was one of the most surprising moments of Elizabeth Budde’s career. As Assistant Professor in the Department of Hematology & Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation at City of Hope, Budde, MD, and other researchers were treating a lymphoma patient with IGM-2323, a novel type of bispecific antibody shown to be effective in lab studies. This patient, one of the first eight humans to receive this treatment, had already been unsuccessfully treated with CAR T-cell therapy. IGM-2323 was likely their last chance at survival.
Adding nivolumab to the treatment plan of patients with primary refractory or relapsed Hodgkin lymphoma may expand their life span, according to early results from a study presented at the 2020 ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition (Abstract 472). In new research, Alex Herrera, MD, a hematologist and oncologist at City of Hope, revealed only three of the 59 patients relapsed.