BJH - volume 14, issue 5, september 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD
EHA 2023 again featured a plethora of interesting oral abstracts and poster presentations in the field of acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). In this article, we will highlight some of the most promising data with regard to AML clinical studies, novel combinations in the treatment of AML and risk stratification. Furthermore, we will discuss some important clinical updates in the field of MDS.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(5):221–5)
Read moreBJH - volume 14, issue 5, september 2023
M. Delforge MD, PhD
The treatment of relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma (MM) currently undergoes a new (r-)evolution. Real-world data like those from the LocoMMotion study have confirmed the grim outcome of MM patients who have received ≥3 treatment lines or who are refractory to the current backbone treatments that include a proteasome inhibitor, an immunomodulatory drug (IMiD) and an anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody.1 The median progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) of this heavily pre-treated patient population is around four months and their overall survival barely exceeds one year. Until recently, the treatment options for this patient population were very limited and consisted mostly of retreatment with the drugs that had already been given in earlier treatment lines.2 Currently, the recently introduced T-cell redirecting therapies are completely reshaping the treatment paradigm of relapsed and refractory MM (triple class exposed and mostly triple class refractory). These therapies include CAR-T cells, bispecific antibodies and to a lesser extent antibody drug conjugates. Whereas B-Cell Maturation Antigen (or BCMA) is the most frequently targeted surface antigen, other targets include G-Protein Coupled Receptor family C group 5 member D (or GPRCD). It was therefore no surprise that the oral sessions on treatment of MM were nearly completely dedicated to T-cell redirecting therapies. In the following article, the most recent insights presented at the EHA congress in Frankfurt are discussed.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(5):216–8)
Read moreBJH - volume 14, issue 5, september 2023
N. Granacher MD
The focus on CML this year was on how to improve patient’s eligibility and success of treatment free remission (TFR). The longest TFR follow-up comes from the STIM trial, Imatinib +/- Interferon (IFN), in which has been shown that at 7-year follow-up only 38% of patients maintain TFR.1 Previously, additional prognostic features such as IFN pre-treatment and increased NK cell count at baseline have been suggested to be associated with increased success of TFR however these are not always validated in larger cohorts. Several investigators are therefore looking at how to better define TFR eligible patients and at how to increase the TFR success rate.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(5):207–10)
Read moreBJH - volume 14, issue 5, september 2023
A. Janssens MD, PhD
Most of the selected abstracts deal with longer-term results of clinical trials already presented previously and urgent medical needs still existing in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
(BELG J HEMATOL 2022;14(5):201–6)
Read moreBJH - volume 14, issue 1, february 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
During the 64th annual meeting of ASH, again hundreds of interesting oral abstracts and poster presentations in the field of acute myeloid leukaemia were discussed. In this article, we will highlight some of the most promising data in the field of novel therapeutic agents, with interesting studies on gilteritinib and quizartinib. Furthermore, several trials assessed new induction strategies and reported on biomarker and/or minimal residual disease investigations. Finally, we discuss some practice-changing data from the ASAP and VIALE-A trials.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(1):30–5)
Read moreBJH - volume 14, issue 1, february 2023
J. Blokken PhD, PharmD, T. Feys MBA, MSc
In this overview, we present what was new in the field of haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) at ASH 2022. Key messages were that all AML patients – even those without complete remission – are eligible for HCT and that there is a donor for (virtually) everybody thanks to the use of post-transplant cytarabine and abatercept. Furthermore, first-line acute graft-versus-host disease treatment in standard risk patients is feasible without corticosteroids or with low-dose corticosteroids. Finally, it was reported that a non-restrictive diet does not increase infections in patients with neutropenia after stem cell transplantation.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(1):26–9)
Read moreBJH - volume 14, issue 1, february 2023
T. Feys MBA, MSc
Over the last decades, we have witnessed tremendous advances in the management of patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Not surprisingly, also the 2022 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) featured a wide range of abstracts dedicated to this plasma cell disorder. This article will discuss some of the most important MM related abstracts presented at this years’ meeting, including promising data generated with bispecific antibodies and CAR-T cell therapy and results of clinical trials evaluating ‘curative strategies’ in patients with high-risk smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM). In addition, this summary discusses someinteresting observations from the Icelandic iSTOPMM initiative and touches upon two innovative techniques to assess minimal residual disease (MRD) on peripheral blood in patients with MM. Finally, results of a study assessing a dexamethasone-sparing treatment regimen in frail patients with newly diagnosed MM (NDMM) will be addressed.
(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(1):19–25)
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