ASH 2010

Lower-dose lenalidomide in combination with dexamethasone may significantly reduce incidence of hematologic toxicities, infections, and venous thromboembolism, without compromising treatment efficacy in patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma who are ≥60 years of age or who have renal impairment, results of a planned interim analysis of a prospective multicenter phase 2 trial presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition have indicated.

In older patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) refractory to hypomethylating agents, treatment with the orally administered nucleoside analogue sapacitabine resulted in 1-year survival rates of 29-35%, a randomized phase 2 study presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition has found.

Erlotinib has an acceptable toxicity profile in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and anti-leukemic activity in higher-risk MDS patients after failure of hypomethylating agents, results of an interim analysis of a phase 2 trial have found. The study was presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition.

Patients with follicular lymphoma who receive initial treatment with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CVP) followed by 2 years of maintenance with rituximab had outcomes that compared favorably with more intensive combinations, results of a retrospective population-based analysis using the British Columbia (BC) Cancer Agency Lymphoid Cancer Database has found. The study was presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

Patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who subsequently received oral forodesine, a purine nucleoside phosphorylase (PNP) inhibitor, had a response rate of 26%, an analysis of an open-label, multicenter, phase 2 study has found. The study as presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition.

A prospective phase 2 study of the low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) tinzaparin for initial treatment and secondary prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism (VTE) associated with cancer treatment found the agent to be safe and efficacious, with the recurrent VTE event rate comparing favorably with that reported for another LMWH, dalteparin according to a study presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition.

Patients with newly diagnosed or previously treated multiple myeloma (MM) who receive thalidomide (T)- or lenalidomide (L)-based regimens are at high risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), and it is uncertain whether thromboprophylaxis provides a clear benefit, especially in those who receive L-based therapy or have previously treated disease, according to results of a systematic review and meta-analysis that were shown at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition.

Pamela S. Becker, MD, PhD, at University of Washington in Seattle, Wash., and colleagues conducted a study that indicated priming with clofarabine, cytarabine, and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) (GCLAC) is active in relapsed and refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Results of this study were presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition.

Novel oral anticoagulants, that do not require the laboratory monitoring associated with warfarin therapy, may alter the landscape of venous thromboembolism treatment and stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation, according to a study presented at the 52nd American Society of Hematology Meeting and Exposition.