Oncology

Advances in treating multiple myeloma have transformed the field over the past decade, giving clinicians more effective therapy options for newly diagnosed patients who are candidates for stem cell transplant and those who are not.

Andre Goy, MD, MS, from the John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the apparent effectiveness of CD19-targeted CAR-modified T cells as a treatment for patients with various types of lymphoma.

To gain insight into the studies being presented at the ASH Annual Meeting, we interviewed Marcel R.M. van den Brink, MD, PhD, on abstracts being presented by faculty at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Researchers have had little success in developing an HIV cure, but recent studies involving gene therapy, immune-based therapy, reactivation of the immune system, and "very early" treatment have produced promising results.

Renier J. Brentjens, MD, PhD, Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the side effects of chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)–modified T cells when used to treat B-cell malignancies.

Renier J. Brentjens, MD, PhD, Leukemia Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the treatment of B-cell malignancies with chimeric antigen receptor(CAR)–modified T cells.

Catherine Bollard, MBChB, MD, Professor of Pediatrics, Medicine, and Pathology & Immunology, Baylor College of Medicine, discusses the treatment of EBV-positive lymphoma with T-cell therapy.

After receiving breakthrough therapy designation from the FDA for the treatment of two B-cell malignancies earlier this year, ibrutinib has received an additional breakthrough designation.

The investigational agent ibrutinib was granted "Breakthrough Therapy Designations" by the FDA as a singular therapy for a pair of B-cell malignancies: relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia.

Diffuse large B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma is typically a chemotherapy-sensitive malignancy, justifying dose-intense therapy with hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for patients unlikely to achieve cure with standard-dose regimens.

Imatinib (Gleevec) improves the ability to proceed with allogeneic stem cell transplantation and improves 5-year overall survival (OS) when used as induction therapy in patients with Philadelphia chromosome positive (Ph ) acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is diagnosed at an early stage, when it is amenable to surgical resection in approximately 20% to 25% of cases.

News items reported in this issue: 1) 186-Gene Signature in Cancer Stem Cells Predicts Recurrence 2) National Prostate Cancer Coalition Commences Clinical Trial Education Program 3) Concomitant High-Dose Radiation Therapy Plus Cetuximab Improves Locoregional Control and Reduces Mortality, with No Increase in Radiation Therapy%u2013Associated Toxicity in Patients with Advanced Squamous-Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck, and more