Authors

Latest:

Priming of leukemic cells with cytokines may enhance the efficacy of cell-cycle chemotherapy. In this study, we utilized these synergistic effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF, sargramostim [Leukine]), hydroxyurea, and low-dose cytosine arabinoside to treat elderly patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). In a single-institution, retrospective study, we evaluated 94 treatments with concomitant hydroxyurea, cytosine arabinoside, and GM-CSF between the years of 1997 and 2003 in high-risk elderly patients with AML or MDS. A total of 80% of patients received all of the GM-CSF doses; 78% of patients received all of the cytosine arabinoside doses. Adverse events were minimal. No patient developed mucositis or alopecia. The most common adverse event was neutropenic fever, which was noted in 57% of patients. Twenty-one percent of patients remained neutropenic after treatment until death or relapse. Sixty-eight percent of patients reached an absolute neutrophil count of greater than 1,000 μL in a median of 33.5 days. Our data show an overall response rate of 52%, with a complete response rate of 39% and a partial response rate of 13%. Overall, our study showed that low-dose cytosine arabinoside given by continuous infusion together with continuous infusion GM-CSF and hydroxyurea was well-tolerated and effective in treating elderly AML and MDS patients who were not eligible for standard induction therapy.

Latest:

Priming of leukemic cells with cytokines may enhance the efficacy of cell-cycle chemotherapy. In this study, we utilized these synergistic effects of granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF, sargramostim [Leukine]), hydroxyurea, and low-dose cytosine arabinoside to treat elderly patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) or myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). In a single-institution, retrospective study, we evaluated 94 treatments with concomitant hydroxyurea, cytosine arabinoside, and GM-CSF between the years of 1997 and 2003 in high-risk elderly patients with AML or MDS. A total of 80% of patients received all of the GM-CSF doses; 78% of patients received all of the cytosine arabinoside doses. Adverse events were minimal. No patient developed mucositis or alopecia. The most common adverse event was neutropenic fever, which was noted in 57% of patients. Twenty-one percent of patients remained neutropenic after treatment until death or relapse. Sixty-eight percent of patients reached an absolute neutrophil count of greater than 1,000 μL in a median of 33.5 days. Our data show an overall response rate of 52%, with a complete response rate of 39% and a partial response rate of 13%. Overall, our study showed that low-dose cytosine arabinoside given by continuous infusion together with continuous infusion GM-CSF and hydroxyurea was well-tolerated and effective in treating elderly AML and MDS patients who were not eligible for standard induction therapy.

Latest:

Vaccines are a promising but still experimental treatment for melanoma.They are intended to stimulate immune responses against melanomaand by so doing, increase resistance against and slow the progressionof this cancer. Key requirements for vaccines to be effectiveare that they contain antigens that can stimulate tumor-protective immuneresponses and that some of these antigens are present on thetumor to be treated. Unfortunately, these antigens are still not known.To circumvent this problem, polyvalent vaccines can be constructedcontaining a broad array of melanoma-associated antigens. Severalstrategies are available to construct such polyvalent vaccines; each hasadvantages and disadvantages. Clinical trials have shown that vaccinesare safe to use and have much less toxicity than current therapy formelanoma. Vaccines can stimulate both antibody and T-cell responsesagainst melanoma, with the type of response induced, its frequency,and its magnitude depending on the vaccine and the adjuvant agentused. A growing body of evidence suggests that vaccines can be clinicallyeffective. This evidence includes correlations between vaccineinducedantibody or T-cell responses and improved clinical outcome,clearance of melanoma markers from the circulation, improved survivalcompared to historical controls, and most convincingly, two randomizedtrials in which the recurrence-free survival of vaccine-treatedpatients was significantly longer than that of control groups.

Latest:

Vaccines are a promising but still experimental treatment for melanoma.They are intended to stimulate immune responses against melanomaand by so doing, increase resistance against and slow the progressionof this cancer. Key requirements for vaccines to be effectiveare that they contain antigens that can stimulate tumor-protective immuneresponses and that some of these antigens are present on thetumor to be treated. Unfortunately, these antigens are still not known.To circumvent this problem, polyvalent vaccines can be constructedcontaining a broad array of melanoma-associated antigens. Severalstrategies are available to construct such polyvalent vaccines; each hasadvantages and disadvantages. Clinical trials have shown that vaccinesare safe to use and have much less toxicity than current therapy formelanoma. Vaccines can stimulate both antibody and T-cell responsesagainst melanoma, with the type of response induced, its frequency,and its magnitude depending on the vaccine and the adjuvant agentused. A growing body of evidence suggests that vaccines can be clinicallyeffective. This evidence includes correlations between vaccineinducedantibody or T-cell responses and improved clinical outcome,clearance of melanoma markers from the circulation, improved survivalcompared to historical controls, and most convincingly, two randomizedtrials in which the recurrence-free survival of vaccine-treatedpatients was significantly longer than that of control groups.

Latest:

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an importantrole in cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Targeting EGFR inpatients with colorectal cancer has become an important therapeutictool. Recently, a monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domainof the receptor (cetuximab [Erbitux]) has been approved for the treatmentof patients with EGFR-positive metastatic disease refractory toirinotecan (Camptosar)-based therapy. The role of other targeted agentsagainst EGFR, including other monoclonal antibodies as well as inhibitorsof the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain, will also be discussed.

Latest:

The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an importantrole in cell growth, differentiation, and survival. Targeting EGFR inpatients with colorectal cancer has become an important therapeutictool. Recently, a monoclonal antibody against the extracellular domainof the receptor (cetuximab [Erbitux]) has been approved for the treatmentof patients with EGFR-positive metastatic disease refractory toirinotecan (Camptosar)-based therapy. The role of other targeted agentsagainst EGFR, including other monoclonal antibodies as well as inhibitorsof the intracellular tyrosine kinase domain, will also be discussed.

Latest:

Drs. Enright and McGlave succinctly review the biology of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) and highlight the therapeutic role of allogeneic stem-cell transplantation. Two points, however, warrant further discussion. The first is that a regimen containing interferon-alfa (Intron A, Roferon-A) is optimal front-line therapy for the great majority of CML patients.[1] The second is that use of an interferon-alfa-based regimen prior to allogeneic stem-cell transplantation does not adversely affect post-transplant mortality, morbidity, or anti-CML efficacy.

Latest:

The FDA has approved a new indication for sunitinib (Sutent) to include the adjuvant treatment of renal cell carcinoma in patients at high risk of disease recurrence following nephrectomy.

Latest:

ONCOLOGY spoke with Eric Ko, MD, PhD, who recently published a review article with his colleagues on strategies for combining radiation therapy with immunotherapy for the treatment of non–small-cell lung cancer.

Latest:

This review summarizes the current evidence supporting the use of SBRT as treatment for inoperable renal cell carcinoma, as well as provides recommendations for patient selection and reviews the technical aspects of treatment and the expected toxicities.

Latest:

This review summarizes the current evidence supporting the use of SBRT as treatment for inoperable renal cell carcinoma, as well as provides recommendations for patient selection and reviews the technical aspects of treatment and the expected toxicities.

Latest:

Latest:

Latest:

Mark Walters, MD, a professor in residence for pediatrics at the Sickle Cell Center of Excellence at the University of California discussed gene therapy’s ongoing transformation of the treatment landscape.

Latest:

Robert M. Dean, MD, discusses the potential role for consolidative CAR T-cell therapy in mantle cell lymphoma.

Latest:

The hematologic oncologist at the Levine Cancer Institute discussed the clinical implications of tisagenlecleucel in the treatment of patients with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Latest:

Previous research has suggested the efficacy of chimeric antigen receptor natural killer (CAR-NK) cells in hematological malignancies, and more recently, preclinical findings have raised the question of whether the type of treatment could be a viable, potentially more attractive option for solid tumors.

Latest:

A substantial proportion of patients with inherited retinal disease could be treated with base editing, while therapeutic strategies that focus on common variants could be used to treat a large number of patients with the disease, according to study results.

Latest:

A median 19-month follow-up of the JULIET trial—a single-arm, open-label, multicenter, global, pivotal phase 2 trial of the chimeric antigen receptor-T cell therapy tisagenlecleucel directed against CD19-expressing B cells—has found a 40% complete response and a manageable safety profile in adult patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).

Latest:

The study portrays the intense need for daily care experienced by children with aromatic L-Amino acid decarboxylase deficiency (AADC-d) and their families.

Latest:

While antiretroviral therapy (ART) can suppress HIV infection, ART cannot completely eradicate HIV, which remains in a latent reservoir in CD4-positive T cells during treatment; discontinuation of ART leads to rapid rebound of the virus. This reservoir forms even when ART is initiated early on in the infection, and while the most widely accepted model of how the reservoir forms involves infection of a CD4-positive T cell as it transitions to a resting state, the dynamics and timing of the reservoir’s formation have been largely unknown.

Latest:

Patients with the GBA mutation of Parkinson disease (PD) were shown to exhibit more severe cognitive decline than patients with idiopathic PD and those with both the GBA and LRRK2 G2019S mutations of PD.

Latest:

Universal gene expression profiling of patients with stage II breast cancer resulted in outpatient savings of $11,000 (inclusive of testing costs) within 6 months of initiation of medical therapy.

Latest:

Universal gene expression profiling of patients with stage II breast cancer resulted in outpatient savings of $11,000 (inclusive of testing costs) within 6 months of initiation of medical therapy.

Latest:

Universal gene expression profiling of patients with stage II breast cancer resulted in outpatient savings of $11,000 (inclusive of testing costs) within 6 months of initiation of medical therapy.

Latest:

Universal gene expression profiling of patients with stage II breast cancer resulted in outpatient savings of $11,000 (inclusive of testing costs) within 6 months of initiation of medical therapy.