Caroline Helwick

In newly diagnosed, transplant-ineligible patients with multiple myeloma, treatment with the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody isatuximab plus bortezomib, lenalidomide, and dexamethasone (VRd) led to a 40% reduction in the risk of disease progression or death and “deep and sustained responses,” almost doubling the achievement of sustained undetectable measurable residual disease (MRD) at 12 months, according to Thierry Facon, MD, Head, Haematology Division, and Professor of Hematology, Lille University Hospital, France. 1

With the introduction of tyrosine kinase inhibitors, chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) has become a chronic disease for most patients. Furthermore, we now know that some patients can successfully stop treatment and remain in remission.

Is the optimal first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) monotherapy with a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor or some combination regimen? This clinical question was explored by two speakers at the 2024 Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference, sponsored by the University of Nebraska. 1

For relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma, there are three available bispecific antibodies—two that target B-cell maturation antigen (BCMA) and one that targets G protein–coupled receptor class C group 5 member D (GPRC5D). Which is the preferred target? This question was addressed at the 2024 Debates and Didactics in Hematology and Oncology conference by two myeloma experts from Emory University Winship Cancer

In patients with hormone receptor–positive metastatic breast cancers with HER2-low or HER2-ultralow expression, treatment with the antibody-drug conjugate fam-trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (T-DXd) was found to be superior to chemotherapy after one or more lines of endocrine therapy. In DESTINY-Breast06, this approach significantly reduced the risk of disease progression by 38%, compared with chemotherapy, and patients with HER2-ultralow expression appeared to derive as much benefit as those in the HER2-low subset. 1

Clinical trials are now demonstrating the value of immune checkpoint inhibitors as neoadjuvant therapy in certain subsets of patients with hormone receptor–positive, HER2-negative breast cancer. Hope S. Rugo, MD, FASCO, described this newer approach—specifically, which subsets of patients may benefit—at the 2024 Miami Breast Cancer Conference.

“Stopping tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy is something we get a lot of questions about from both patients and their referring physicians,” said Amelia A. Langston, MD. Although their efficacy is ind...

In patients with early-stage triple-negative breast cancer, the addition of atezolizumab to standard adjuvant chemotherapy provided no benefit over chemotherapy alone in the final analysis of the phase III ALEXANDRA/IMpassion030 trial. The results were presented at the 2024 European Breast Cancer Conference by Heather McArthur, MD, MPH, Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Director of the Breast Cancer Program, Harold C. Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas.

The antibody-drug conjugate ifinatamab deruxtecan (I-DXd) showed clinically meaningful responses in pretreated patients with extensive-stage small cell lung cancer (SCLC) in an interim analysis of the phase II IDeate-Lung01 study. The findings were presented at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer by Charles M. Rudin, MD, PhD.

In a phase III study conducted in China, the bispecific antibody ivonescimab demonstrated a statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival compared with the PD-1 inhibitor pembrolizumab as a first-line treatment of PD-L1–positive advanced non–small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), according to Zhou et al. These findings from the HARMONi-2 study were presented by Caicun Zhou, MD, PhD, of Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, at the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) 2024 World Conference on Lung Cancer. 1