Compared with the non-Hispanic White population, Hispanic and Black adolescents and young adults (AYA) with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) experience significantly inferior outcomes. In an analysis of the CALGB 10403 AYA trial presented at the recent American Society of Hematology (ASH) 63rd Annual Meeting & Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, a team of researchers led by Dr. Lori Muffly, Associate Professor of Medicine at Stanford University, investigated racial and ethnic disparities in cl...

Although survival in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) has improved over the years, there remains a need to identify racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic health disparities that contribute to poor outcomes. In a study recently presented at the 63rd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting & Exposition, a team of researchers led by Dr. Sumit Gupta of the University of Toronto investigated the impact of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status among young patients with ALL ...

The FDA has approved brexucabtagene autoleucel (TecartusTM, Kite Pharma), an autologous anti-CD19 chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, for patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). "Despite treatment with novel therapies and allogeneic stem cell transplant consolidation, outcomes in adult patients with relapsed or refractory B-cell precursor ALL remain poor, underlining the need for more effective therapies," wrote Bijal D. Shah, MD, Ass...

The FDA granted approval to asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (recombinant)-rywn (Rylaze™, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) as part of a multi-agent chemotherapeutic regimen for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and lymphoblastic lymphoma (LBL) who have developed hypersensitivity to E. coli-derived asparaginase. Asparaginase erwinia chrysanthemi (recombinant)-rywn is an alternative to the only other FDA-approved drug for patients with this allergic reaction, which has been in short sup...

Among patients with relapsed/refractory acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), those with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive disease experience a higher rate of relapse and poorer chances of long-term survival. According to results of the phase 3 INO-VATE trial recently published in Cancer, inotuzumab ozogamicin, a humanized anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody, achieved high rates of response, remission, and progression-free survival in patients with this disease. In this interview with i3 Health, Hag...

In patients with relapsed/refractory Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), inotuzumab ozogamicin increases rates of response, remission, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), and progression-free survival compared with intensive chemotherapy, although it does not produce a significant improvement in overall survival. "Historically, patients with Ph-positive ALL have had poorer prognoses, with higher rates of relapse and worse long-term survival ...

Positive survival outcomes were observed in patients with Philadelphia chromosome (Ph)-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) when treated with dasatinib followed by blinatumomab in in a phase 2 study now published in the New England Journal of Medicine. For the trial, adults with newly diagnosed Ph-positive ALL were given a seven-day prephase treatment with a glucocorticoid prior to the first administration of dasatinib in a 140 mg dose. Glucocorticoids were continued for 24 more days...

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have become the first to successfully develop mature, cancer-killing T cells in a laboratory setting. The immune system's T cells fight infections; they also have the ability to fight cancer. Therapies that involve genetically engineering a patient's own T cells with a receptor that helps the T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells have tremendous potential for certain types of cancer. One of these therapies is CAR T-cell ther...

In a new study published in Cancer Research, investigators have found neonatal inflammatory markers associated with childhood B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), indicating that children with ALL are born with a dysregulated immune function that may cause abnormal reactions to early childhood infections. "Our findings suggest that children who develop ALL are immunologically disparate already at birth," stated lead author Signe Holst Søegaard, MSc, a PhD student in the Departmen...

Although recent genetic research has identified a number of new subtypes of B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL), the genetic alterations that initiate many of these subtypes have until now been unknown. In a new study, published in Nature Genetics, researchers have created a revised taxonomy of B-ALL that incorporates 23 subtypes, including 8 new ones, as defined by chromosomal rearrangements, sequence mutations, or heterogeneous genomic alterations. "B-ALL has remarkable molecular diver...

Around 2% of all pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have hypodiploid ALL, a high-risk subtype in which leukemic cells have 25 to 44 chromosomes rather than the standard 46. Researchers have now found important clues that can help alter the poor prognosis for this condition. In a new study published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, investigators performed a retrospective study of patients with hypodiploid ALL enrolled in research trials for 16 cooperative study groups ...

Outcomes have improved in recent years for patients with B-cell malignancies such as diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but many patients continue to develop relapsed or refractory disease. In this interview with i3 Health, Stephanie Jackson, MSN, RN, AOCNS®, BMTCN®, Oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, discusses advances in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, which has been shown to produce significant...