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News and Treatment Updates

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Here's where you'll find a regularly updated, broad range of articles written by the AAMDSIF team, allied health organizations and news organizations. By staying well-informed, patients and families are practicing a form of self-support that will help them be more effective self-advocates when engaging with health care providers.

Gene expression signature predicts relapse in adult patients with cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia

Originally Published: 03/08/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
Key Points The weighted expressions of 7 coding and 3 noncoding genes is strongly associated with relapse in CN-AML patients. The 10-gene signature is independent from mutations known to associate with outcome in AML patients. Abstract Although ∼80% of adult patients with cytogenetically normal acute myeloid leukemia (CN-AML) achieve a complete remission (CR), more than half of them relapse. Better identification of patients who are likely to relapse can help to inform clinical decisions. We performed RNA sequencing on pretreatment samples from 268 adults with de novo CN-AML who were younger...

Myeloablative vs. Reduced Intensity Conditioning for Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndromes—Long Term Follow up of BMT CTN 0901 Clinical Trial

Originally Published: 02/26/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
Abstract Background : Several prospective randomized trials comparing conditioning intensity prior to allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) have been performed with conflicting results. While reduced intensity conditioning (RIC) leads to lower treatment-related mortality (TRM) this is offset by higher rates of relapse. Long term follow-up of randomized comparative trials are limited. Here we present long term follow up of a randomized comparison of myeloablative conditioning (MAC) compared to RIC prior to HCT for acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or myelodysplasia (MDS). Objective...

Single cord blood transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia patients aged 60 years or older: a retrospective study in Japan

Originally Published: 02/24/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
This article was originally published here Ann Hematol. 2021 Feb 23. doi: 10.1007/s00277-021-04464-5. Online ahead of print. ABSTRACT The availability of alternative donor sources could allow elderly patients to receive allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). We retrospectively evaluated the outcomes of single-unit cord blood transplantation (CBT) in 1577 patients aged ≥60 years with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in Japan between 2002 and 2017. In total, 990 (63%) patients were not in complete remission (CR) at the time of CBT. A myeloablative conditioning regimen (52%) and...

Subcutaneous immunoglobulin in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant patients: a prospective study of feasibility, safety, and healthcare resource use

Originally Published: 02/23/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
Abstract Background We evaluated feasibility, safety, and total resource use of subcutaneous immunoglobulin (SCIG) in a pilot study of patients who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) over a 6-month period. Methods A total of 20 eligible patients were treated with SCIG at 0.1 g/kg/week for up to 6 months. Patients were matched to 20 concurrent intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG) controls. Clinical outcomes measured included adverse reactions, healthcare resource use, patient satisfaction, and quality of life (QOL). (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03401268.) Results...

Scientists discover two unique subtypes of a prominent mutation in patients with AML

Originally Published: 02/16/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
Using advanced RNA sequencing, scientists have identified two unique subtypes of a prominent mutation present in many patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) – called NPM1 – that could help predict survival and improve treatment response for patients whose leukemic cells bear the mutation. In research published Feb. 16, in Nature Communications, a team led by Princess Margaret Cancer Centre Senior Scientists, Drs. Benjamin Haibe-Kains, Aaron Schimmer and Mark Minden, have discovered that within the NPM1 mutation of AML there exists two unique subtypes, one of which can be effectively...

What's New? Foundation Update Newsletter February 2021

Originally Published: 02/16/2021
Article Source: Foundation Update

Trading One Disease for Another: Patients With Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease May Face Lifelong Complications

Originally Published: 02/10/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
The field of allogeneic stem cell transplantation continues to improve survival for patients with previously incurable blood cancers. However, up to 50% of patients who undergo transplantation with donor cells will develop chronic graft-vs-host disease, a potentially deadly condition that can also cause lifelong complications. The ASCO Post spoke with Katie Schoeppner, MSW, LICSW, Director of Patient Services at the National Marrow Donor Program (NMDP); Susan K. ­Stewart, Executive Director, BMT InfoNet; and Meredith Cowden, MA, LPCC-S, of the Meredith A. Cowden Foundation, about the many...

TP53 Modifier Impresses in Early MDS/AML Study

Originally Published: 01/26/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
A drug that targets a common mutation in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) led to historically high response rates as initial treatment for MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a small clinical trial showed. Overall, 71% of patients with TP53-mutant conditions responded to the combination of eprenetapopt and azacitidine, including complete remissions (CRs) in 44%. A majority of patients with MDS or AML had objective responses. Patients who responded to eprenetapopt lived almost twice as long as those who did not benefit from the treatment. (Article continues at link above.)

Stem Cell Transplants for Leukemia

Originally Published: 01/21/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
Stem cell transplantation (SCT) offers many people with blood and bone marrow cancers hope for a potential cure. More than 17,500 stem cell transplants are performed in the U.S. annually. MyLeukemiaTeam sat down with Dr. Matt Kalaycio to better understand stem cell transplantations as a treatment for leukemia. Dr. Kalaycio is the former chair of the department of hematology and medical oncology at the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Center Cancer Institute. An expert in blood cancers, Dr. Kalaycio is currently a professor in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine at Case Western Reserve...

Clinical characteristics and outcomes of COVID-19 in haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation recipients: an observational cohort study

Originally Published: 01/19/2021
Article Source: External Web Content
Background Haematopoietic stem-cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients are considered at high risk of poor outcomes after COVID-19 on the basis of their immunosuppressed status, but data from large studies in HSCT recipients are lacking. This study describes the characteristics and outcomes of HSCT recipients after developing COVID-19. Methods In response to the pandemic, the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR) implemented a special form for COVID-19-related data capture on March 27, 2020. All patients—irrespective of age, diagnosis, donor type, graft source...