Lymphoma

Targeted therapy with the Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor acalabrutinib (Calquence), which is currently approved for the treatment of patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, has demonstrated durable remissions in treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), according to the long-term data from the phase 2 CLL-001 study, which were presented at the ASCO 2020 virtual annual meeting.

Orlando, FL—Tazemetostat (Tazverik), a first-in-class, oral, selective EZH2 inhibitor, has demonstrated single-agent antitumor activity in patients with relapsed or refractory follicular lymphoma, according to results of a phase 2 clinical trial presented at ASH 2019.

Orlando, FL—Nivolumab (Opdivo) monotherapy can be used as an effective bridge therapy to autologous stem-cell transplant (ASCT) in many patients with relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma, reported Matthew Mei, MD, Assistant Clinical Professor, Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA, at ASH 2019.

The 2 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies available so far—axicabtagene ciloleucel (Yescarta) and tisagenlecleucel (Kymriah)—may be considered cost-effective treatments for adults with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), depending on the long-term outcomes of these patients, according to a recent cost-effective analysis (Lin JK, et al. J Clin Oncol. 2019 Jun 3. Epub ahead of print).

On June 10, 2019, the FDA granted accelerated approval to polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy; Genentech), a CD79b-directed antibody–drug conjugate, in combination with bendamustine (Bendeka, Treanda) plus rituximab (Rituxan or a biosimilar), for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who have received ≥2 lines of therapy. The FDA granted polatuzumab breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations.

On May 28, 2019, the FDA approved lenalidomide (Revlimid; Celgene), in combination with rituximab (Rituxan), for the treatment of patients with previously treated follicular lymphoma or marginal-zone lymphoma (MZL). The FDA used its priority review program for this approval, and granted lenalidomide plus rituximab an orphan drug designation for this new indication.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a cancer of B-cell lymphocytes and is the most common type of leukemia in adults. More than 20,000 Americans were diagnosed with CLL in 2018.

In 1944, Jan G. Waldenström, MD, published his observations about a series of patients who presented with anemia, hepatosplenomegaly, hyperviscosity, bleeding, lymphoplasmacytic infiltrate in the bone marrow, and a large serum protein or “macroglobulin.” Today, Waldenström’s macroglobulinemia, also known as lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is classified as a rare, indolent, and heterogeneous type of lymphoma of the lymphatic system.