VJHemOnc Podcast

The Myeloma Sessions: key updates from ASH 2020

Over the last decades, a deeper understanding of multiple myeloma's complex pathobiology has transformed the diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment paradigm, resulting in significant improvements in patient outcomes. Despite advances in treatment and outcomes, multiple myeloma is still considered an incurable disease. The management of newly diagnosed transplant-eligible patients and treatment approaches for relapsed/refractory myeloma remain hotly debated topics among the experts. The development of targeted and immune agents represents an important therapeutic strategy that can potentially translate into myeloma's eventual cure.

In this exclusive podcast, María-Victoria Mateos, MD, PhD, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain, Thomas Martin, MD, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, and Nina Shah, MD, University of California-San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, discuss the critical data presented at the ASH 2020 virtual Annual Meeting and how they might influence the treatment paradigm in myeloma.

The MPN Sessions: Rapidly advancing genomic discoveries and treatment strategies in MPNs

Mechanistically, myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), comprising primary myelofibrosis (MF), polycythemia vera (PV) and essential thrombocythemia (ET), were a mystery for many decades. The breakthrough discovery of near-universal upregulation of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway as the driving force in MPNs triggered a wave of research that has drastically improved our understanding, and consequently broadened treatment options. Developing targeted therapies, particularly in settings of unmet need such as early-stage disease and second-line options, is an extensive area of investigation, with many novel classes in trials.

The annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) consistently highlights biological and clinical updates in the MPNs field. The virtual 2020 ASH meeting was no exception, with emphases on significant genomic advances and emerging therapies.

In this latest exclusive, MPNs Session, we welcome Ruben Mesa, MD, UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson Cancer Center, San Antonio, TX; Claire Harrison, MD, FRCP, FRCPath, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK; Srdan Verstovsek, MD, PhD, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; and Naveen Pemmaraju, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX. Our leading experts debate key updates in the treatment and management of MPNs following the ASH 2020 virtual meeting. In particular, they explore clonal evolution discoveries, as well as promising therapeutic strategies for PV, MF, ET and rarer MPNs.

Updates for the management of MDS from ASH 2020

During the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2020 Annual Meeting and Exposition, several abstracts provided important updates for the management of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), including clinical trial data for emerging therapeutic options for MDS.

In this podcast, we hear from three leading experts in MDS, who discuss the key updates presented at this year’s virtual ASH Annual Meeting. Uwe Platzbecker, MD, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany, shares the results from the ongoing Phase II IMerge trial of imetelstat for transfusion-dependent patients with lower-risk MDS. We are also joined by Jacqueline Garcia, MD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, who discusses the results of a Phase Ib study evaluating venetoclax in combination with azacitidine for patients with higher-risk MDS requiring treatment and not immediately undergoing transplantation at the time the study started. Additionally, Daniel DeAngelo, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, outlines the results of a Phase I trial investigating whether decitabine, a hypomethylating agent, increased the efficacy of CTLA-4 blockade with ipilimumab in patients with relapsed/refractory MDS or acute myeloid leukemia with or without prior allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation.

The AML Sessions: highlights from ASH 2020

Improved understanding around the pathophysiology and heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has led to a rapidly evolving treatment paradigm for this disease. New therapies and drug approvals have improved outcomes for patients, and in those not eligible for standard induction chemotherapy followed by transplantation, lower-intensity therapies have allowed patients to achieve disease control.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2020 Annual Meeting and Exposition (ASH 2020) was held virtually – and it didn’t disappoint in the quality and breadth of data presented.

In this roundtable discussion, Naval Daver, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, David Sallman, MD, Moffitt Cancer Center, Tampa, FL, Eunice Wang, MD, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY, and Amir Fathi, MD, MPH, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, Boston, MA discuss and debate the key updates in the management of patients with AML presented ASH 2020.

The MDS Sessions: treating MDS around the world

The epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS)

varies across the globe. In resource-limited countries, the diagnosis of MDS can

be challenging – and databases with up-to-date information on the epidemiology

of MDS is also not always available. Access to the latest technologies for

diagnosis and treatment of patients can also be challenging.

In this roundtable discussion, Amer Zeidan, MBBS, Yale University and Yale

Cancer Center, New Haven, CT chairs an excellent session discussing the

epidemiology, diagnosis and treatment of MDS around the world. Dr Zeidan is

joined by Anne Mwirigi, BSc, MBChB, MRCP, FRCPath, Aga Khan Hospital, Nairobi,

Kenya, David Gomez-Almaguer, MD, Hospital Universitario UANL, Monterrey,

Mexico, Mariana Guaraná, MD, Hemorio Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Rishi

Dhawan, MD, MRCP, DM, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi, India and

Iman Aboudallé, MD, Naef K. Bassile Cancer Institute, American University of

Beirut Medical Centre, Lebanon.

Advances in the amyloidosis space: Prognostic factors, CAEL-101 immunotherapy and real-world data

Amyloidosis is the name attributed to a group of diseases caused by the extracellular accumulation of amyloid, an abnormal, insoluble protein. Amyloid forms when protein misfolding transforms soluble precursor proteins into insoluble amyloid fibrils. Amyloid fibrils can disseminate systemically and deposition on organs causes disturbance of organ function. Deposition in cardiac tissue, kidneys and the central nervous system are the primary causes of patient deterioration. There are four main types of amyloidosis: AL (light chain), AA (inflammation), ATTR (hereditary and old age) and AB2M (caused by dialysis). AL amyloidosis is the most common type and is caused by clonal plasma cell dyscrasia. Treatment strategies depend on the type of amyloidosis. Recent treatment developments include novel chemotherapy agents and immunotherapies with monoclonal antibody therapies in particular showing promise.

In this podcast, Morie Gertz, MD, MACP, of the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, Jason Valent, MD, from the Taussig Cancer Institute, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, and Efstathios Kastritis, MD, of the University of Athens School of Medicine, Athens, Greece, discuss updates in the amyloidosis field presented at this year’s virtual American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Developments in CLL: MRD, LOXO-305 and venetoclax at ASH 2020

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) is a B-cell malignancy, predominantly affecting the elderly, which is characterized by an accumulation of immunologically immature lymphocytes in the bone marrow, blood and lymphatic tissue. CLL is the most common type of leukemia. It develops very slowly and is generally incurable, with relapses often occurring after treatment. The past decade has seen significant growth in treatment options for CLL patients. While chemotherapy is still often used, numerous effective targeted agents are approved for use in CLL, both first-line and for relapsed/refractory disease. These include venetoclax, a BCL2 inhibitor approved for use in CLL in 2019; ibrutinib, a BTK inhibitor often used upfront; and monoclonal antibodies, including rituximab and obinutuzumab. The CLL field is currently seeing further exploration of targeted agents as well as trials of novel treatment combinations. In this exclusive podcast, Nitin Jain, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, and Anthony Mato, MD, and Meghan Thompson, MD, both from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, discuss some of the latest updates in CLL treatment presented at this year’s virtual American Society of Hematology (ASH) meeting.

Myeloma at ASH 2020: talquetemab, CARTITUDE-1 & highlights

The field of multiple myeloma is rapidly evolving and can be credited to an increased understanding of the biology of the disease leading to an improvement in patients outcomes. Despite vast advances, the clinical management of patients with multiple myeloma remains challenging, namely resistance in relapsed patients as well as the identification of predictive and prognostic biomarkers.

In this podcast following the virtual annual American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2020 meeting, we hear from three leading experts in multiple myeloma, Niels van de Donk of the University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Yi Lin of Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN and Maria-Victoria Mateos, of the University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain, who address the latest therapeutic approaches presented at ASH 2020 annual meeting.

Advances in CAR T-cell therapies for lymphoma from ASH 2020

Lymphoma is a group of malignant neoplasms of lymphocytes that progress in the lymphatic system. Generally, lymphomas are categorized into two groups: non-Hodgkin lymphoma and Hodgkin lymphoma. Depending on which type of lymphocyte is affected, NHL is classified into B-cell and T-cell NHL. The treatment landscape of B-cell NHL has evolved with the recent treatment developments, including chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies. Axicabtagene ciloleucel (axi-cel), a CAR T-cell product, is currently being evaluated in patients with follicular lymphoma or marginal zone lymphoma in the ZUMA-5 trial. Additionally, lisocabtagene maraleucel (liso-cel) demonstrated promising clinical activity among patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), according to the TRANSCEND study. One of the novel CAR T-cell products, AUTO3, which contains two independent CARs targeting CD19 and CD22, is being evaluated in patients with R/R diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

In this fascinating podcast, Sattva Neelapu, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, Michael Wang, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, and Aravind Ramakrishnan, MD, Sarah Cannon Blood Cancer Center at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center, Austin, TX, discuss CAR T-cell therapy updates in the lymphoma field presented at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2020 Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Moving forward in MPN: timing driver mutations and novel therapies from ASH 2020

Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) are a heterogeneous group of rare myeloid neoplasms characterized by the abnormal proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells within one or more terminal myeloid lineages. Recent advances in the field have drastically improved our understanding of the pathophysiology of MPNs, which have expanded the scope for potential novel therapies.

In this podcast, we are joined by Jyoti Nangalia, MBBChir, of Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK, Srdan Verstovsek, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, and Cem Akin, MD, of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, to discuss pioneering data surrounding MPN pathogenesis and novel therapies presented at this year’s virtual American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition.