AURORA, CO – Noting the urgent need to develop treatments for patients with melanoma who are refractory to or ineligible for immune checkpoint blockade, including patients who lack BRAF-V600E/K mutations, a new study suggested some possible options. The report in...
COVID-19 Has Serious Hematological Implications for Many Patients
CHICAGO – Most of the morbidity and mortality seen with COVID-19 involves the lower respiratory track, but the virus also can involve several organ systems and the syndrome. Noting that the novel coronavirus has a wide range of symptoms and manifestations, a report in...
NHL, Some Other Cancers, Reduced With Early ART in HIV-Positive Patients
OAKLAND, CA – Cancer is a significant problem for patients diagnosed with HIV. indicates that earlier initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) in persons living with HIV (PLWH) can reduce cancer incidence, but it has not been clear which cancer types are affected. A...
Promising Options Identified for AML Treatment After Initial Treatment Failure
CHICAGO – Because of limited treatment options after the failure of initial therapy, clinical management of acute myeloid leukemia remains a challenge for clinicians. One area of significant interest, according to a report in the journal Blood, has been therapeutic...
VA Dramatically Reduces ESA Use for Cancer-Related Anemia
COLUMBIA, SC -- Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents were indicated for use in patients with cancer who receive noncurative myelosuppressive chemotherapy, with the intention of mitigating symptoms and side effects to decrease the need for red blood cell transfusions....
Lymphoma Rates Drop With Better Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment at VA
SEATTLE -- High systemic inflammatory activity is suspected to be a major risk determinant of lymphomagenesis, and past epidemiological studies have consistently demonstrated a link between rheumatoid arthritis and the incidence of lymphoma. A study in RMD Open -...
Is Radiation Therapy Linked to Second Cancer Diagnoses?
STANFORD, CA – How likely is a second cancer diagnosis after primary cancer treatment with 3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3DCRT), intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), or proton beam radiotherapy (PBRT) for lymphoma and other cancers? Researchers from...
Changes in Myelofibrosis Survival at VA
HOUSTON — Myelofibrosis Is a rare disorder in which abnormal blood cells and fibers build up in the bone marrow. It is classified as a myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPNs) in which bone marrow cells that produce blood cells develop and function abnormally....
Relapse Remains a Critical Issue in Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia
MIAMI — Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) APL was first reported and described in Norway in 1957, and is connected to the proliferation of promyelocytes, catastrophic hemorrhagic incidences, and hyper-acute onset. A new review in Oncotarget discusses advances in...
BTK Inhibitors Used in Blood Cancers Show Promise in Treating COVID-19
BOSTON – Observations from the Dana Farber Cancer Institute suggested that Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors used to treat blood cancers might also be effective in controlling “cytokine storms,” the exaggerated immune response associated with COVID-19 in...
CLL Treatments Shift Significantly at VHA From 2013-2018
DENVER, CO – Since the first novel agent was approved for use in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients in 2014, how have treatment regimens changed at the VHA? That was the question behind a presentation at the recent 2020 American Society of Clinical Oncologists...
Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Most Common Malignancy in HIV Patients on Dialysis
AUGUSTA, GA — Patients with HIV and/or end-stage renal disease receiving dialysis appear to have an increased risk of developing malignancies, but little research has been conducted on cancer in patients with both conditions. A study in Clinical Kidney Journal sought...
Chinese Researchers Describe a COVID-19 Case in a CLL Patient
WENZHOU, CHINA -- Since 1993, nearly 30,000 veterans have received care for chronic lymphocytic leukemia at the VA. CLL patients tend to be older and male, as are many veterans, and CLL also is considered a presumptive condition for veterans exposed to Agent Orange or...
Ibrutinib Helps Limit Mantle Cell Lymphoma Progression After AutoSCT
SEATTLE – Can autologous stem cell transplantation extend remission of mantle cell lymphoma? A study published in the journal Blood Research said the procedure could do that but also cautioned that the management of subsequent MCL relapse can be challenging. VA Puget...
Agent Orange Exposure Appears to Worsen MGUS Progression
DETROIT - Agent Orange exposure by military personnel has been linked with multiple malignant and nonmalignant conditions, including monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance. MGUS is an indolent, premalignant plasma cell disorder with the potential of...
Lipid Trait Variants Don’t Appear to Be Linked to NHL Subtypes
ROCHESTER, MN – Noting that studies linking lipid traits to risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma have been inconclusive, new research examined the association of genetically predicted lipid traits with risk of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), chronic lymphocytic...
Veteran Study Looks at Thrombotic Events in Polycythemia Vera Patients
SAN ANTONIO—Patients with polycythemia vera face an elevated risk of thromboembolic events and cardiovascular disease, compared to patients with other myeloproliferative disorders. A German-led study last year in Annals of Hematology pointed out that CV conditions are...
Link Found Between Taller Adult Height, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Risk
BETHESDA, MD – Is taller adult height associated with an increased risk of some non-Hodgkin lymphoma subtypes? An international study led by the National Cancer Institute and partially funded by the VA’s research service sought to determine how height, which is...
Little Improvement for Veterans with Co-Existing HIV, Burkitt Lymphoma
HOUSTON — Diagnosis and treatment of both HIV and Burkitt lymphoma has significantly improved in the last two decades, although HIV patients remain at high risk for the lymphoma. A report in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome discussed the results of...
Human Pegivirus Infection Linked With Lymphoma, Major Subtypes
ROCHESTER, MN – Although not widely known, human pegivirus, also called GBV-C virus or hepatitis G virus-HGV, is globally prevalent and is believed to infect between one-sixth and one-third of the world's population. Past research has suggested that, in economically...
Study Looks at Cachexia After Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
Autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (AHCT) is an accepted strategy for various hematologic malignancies but can lead to functional impairment, fatigue, muscle wasting, and reduced quality of life, according to a new study.
Older Veterans Had Higher Risk of Bleomycin Pulmonary Toxicity After HL Therapy
Until recently, for patients with Hodgkin Lymphoma, the relationship between increasing age and bleomycin pulmonary toxicity (BPT) remained unclear.
Chemo-immunotherapy and Older Patients Before New CLL Treatments
MINNEAPOLIS, MN – Even though chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of older adults, with median age of 68 years at diagnosis, clinical trials on chemo-immunotherapy agents rarely included patients of advanced age, according to a new study. Noting the strong...
Multiple Myeloma Treatment Linked to More Secondary Malignancies in Veterans
BOSTON – While treatment of and survival with multiple myeloma has dramatically improved with better therapeutic options, concerns have been raised about a concurrent increase in second primary malignancies that appear to be related to treatment. A presentation at the...
No Evidence That Military Trauma Increases Risk of Hematologic Malignancies
FAIRFIELD, CA – Does trauma play a role in the development of blood cancer? A recent study of wounded warriors sought to answer that question. A presentation at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando recounted that multiple...
With Equal Care, African Americans With Multiple Myeloma Outlive Others
BOSTON—A recent VA study has shed new light on racial disparities in multiple myeloma. “Previous work examined survival and treatment in multiple myeloma in the broader U.S. healthcare system and found disparities in survival,” said study co-author Nathanael Fillmore,...
VA Conducts Largest Real-World Study of Newer CLL Treatment Options
Research Offers Insight into Evolving Clinical Practice SAN ANTONIO—The massive VA health database revealed unique insights into the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia in actual clinical practice to a team of researchers based at the South Texas Veterans Health...
Recombinant Shingles Vaccine Appears Safe for Some CLL Patients
BETHESDA, MD – Because of immune dysregulation, chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients are especially vulnerable to infectious complications, including varicella zoster virus reactivation. Both their advanced age and immunocompromised status play a role in higher risk...
Study Finds Discontinuation Rates Too High at VA for Newer CLL Therapies
SALT LAKE CITY -- Novel oral agents (NOAs), such as acalabrutinib, duvelisib, ibrutinib, idelalisib and venetoclax are increasingly used instead of traditional chemoimmunotherapy for chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common leukemia in adults. A presentation at...
Veterans Treated for CLL Had Higher Rates of Fungal Infections
LOUIS -- Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) are susceptible to infections due to impaired immunity, from both complications of disease and treatments. A presentation at the 61st American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting and Exposition in Orlando, FL,...
