EHA 2015

Prof Anton Hagenbeek (Prof Anton Hagenbeek - University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about immunoconjugates, the latest targeted treatments in Hodgkin's lymphoma. He also suggests that patients with Hodgkin's disease partake in clinical trials. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Dr Hoffmann (Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about a web-based registry to record all newly-diagnosed chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients in 20 European countries or pre-specified regions covering overall 92.5 million inhabitants. The researchers aimed to investigate if all CML-patients are treated in agreement with current guidelines and achieve equally good treatment results compared with clinical trials.

At a press conference at EHA 2015, Dr Mesa (Mayo Clinic Cancer Center, Scottsdale, USA) presented new data from the Phase 3 PERSIST-1 study which showed that pacritinib is more effective than the best available therapy (BAT) at improving disease symptoms and quality of life (QoL) for patients with myelofibrosis.

Dr Olga Guryanova (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA) presents, at a press conference at EHA 2015, the findings of her work looking at the role of mutant DNMT3A in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) pathogenesis and chemoresistance.

Dr Meletios Dimopoulos (National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the results of ELOQUENT-2, which evaluated elotuzumab in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone and is the first Phase III study to demonstrate the benefit of directly activating the immune system in the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma.

Dr Ehninger (University Hospital Dresden, Dresden, Germany) presents on the results of a phase II randomised study on the safety and efficacy of sorafenib in leukaemia at a press conference at EHA 2015.

Dr Roberts presents the promising results from an early phase trial combining the anti-bcl-2 drug venetoclax with rituximab to eliminate chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) at a press conference at EHA 2015.

Prof Anton Hagenbeek (University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the results of Dr Andrew Roberts' early phase Ib trial which looked at combining the anti-bcl-2 drug venetoclax with rituximab to eliminate chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof Diehl ( Winner of the Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about his amazing work in the field of Hodgkin's lymphoma and the evolution of research and treatment strategies over time. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof Max Topp ( Würzburg University Hospital, Würzburg, Germany) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about his research which showed that acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) patients with low disease burden had lower responses to blinatumomab. Those with higher disease burden could be candidates for higher doses of blinatumomab or cytoreduction. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof Rajkumar (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about new agents in multiple myeloma, such as elotuzumab and daratumumab. He discusses the targeting of CD 38 and SLAM F7 and the impact of histone deacetylase inhibitors in myeloma treatment. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof Rajkumar (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the place of transplantation in light of new agents. He explains how the two are complementary to one another and that new agents have not eclipsed the old.

Prof Rajkumar (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about how changing the definition of multiple myeloma and identifying biomarkers has enabled earlier diagnosis, preventing the need to wait for serious symptoms such as organ damage to arise before acting.

Dr Hoffmann (Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about a web-based registry to record all newly-diagnosed chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) patients in 20 European countries or pre-specified regions covering overall 92.5 million inhabitants. The researchers aimed to investigate if all CML-patients are treated in agreement with current guidelines and achieve equally good treatment results compared with clinical trials. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof Branford (Adelaide University Adelaide, Australia) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about differences in molecular responses to tyrosine kinase inhibitors in chronic myeloid leukaemia and how decisions can be made about stopping the treatment.

Dr Ehninger (University Hospital Dresden, Dresden, Germany) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the results of a phase II randomised study on the safety and efficacy of sorafenib in leukaemia. Read the news story or watch the press conference video for more. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof McVie (European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy) chairs a discussion for ecancertv at EHA 2015 with Prof Sonneveld (University Hospital Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands), Prof Palumbo (University of Torino, Torino, Italy), Prof McVie (European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy) and Prof Facon (University of Lille, Lille, France). They discuss an updated overall survival analysis of the effect of age on efficacy and safety outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma receiving lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone (RD). They also discuss carfilzomib as a replacement of bortezomib, following the ENDEAVOR study and the merits of adding elotuzumab to standard treatment, following the ELOQUENT-2 study. Daratumumab as an effective as a standalone therapy for heavily treated multiple myeloma is also considered, as well as a cytotoxic-free future. This programme was made possible with an educational grant provided by Celgene.

Dr Guryanova (Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about chemoresistance in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and one of the mutations linked to its occurrence. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

"Myeloid leukaemia is a disease of bad luck," Dr George Vassiliou (Cambridge Cancer Centre, Cambridge, UK) tells ecancertv at EHA 2015. It's common for people - particularly those over the age of 90 - to accumulate the genetic mutations that lead to leukaemia, but the body's systems usually keep the disease in check. He explains these mechanisms and connects the influences of genetics, cancer evolution and the environment with respect to leukaemia. Watch Dr Vassiliou explain more about these mutations here. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Dr George Vassiliou (Cambridge Cancer Centre, Cambridge, UK) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the mutations that may cause acute myeloid leukaemia, and how this understanding can aid targeted therapy. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Prof Mateos (University Hospital of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain) and Prof Richardson (Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA) discuss the latest in the management of patients with multiple myeloma for ecancertv at EHA 2015. In particular, they consider monoclonal antibodies, next generation proteasome inhibitors and new combinations, with particular reference to the differing approaches of their respective countries - Spain, and the USA. This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutica (A Johnson & Johnson Company).

Mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) is a rare malignancy sensitive to chemotherapy, and more recently sensitive to non-cytotoxic drugs - but it is ultimately fatal. ecancer's Gordon McVie (ecancer and European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy) joins Professor Simon Rule (Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, UK) at EHA 2015 to discuss the optimal frontline drug combinations used prior to Autologous Stem Cell Transplant (ASCT), and the best drugs for treatment of patients (the majority) who are not fit for ACST. Prof Rule highlights the use of maintenance therapy and the use of single agent lenalidomide which outperforms each of five other single agents in the SPRINT trial. He lists the new approaches which might turn MCL into a curable disease, mentioning new targeted drugs and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells as very promising. This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutica (A Johnson & Johnson Company).

Prof Wendtner (Klinikum Schwabing, Munich, Germany) and Prof Hillmen (Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Leeds, UK) discuss novel drugs and combinations in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) for ecancertv at EHA 2015. In particular, they discuss immunotherapeutic approaches, with reference to drugs such as ibrutinib, idelalisib, and rituximab. This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutica (A Johnson & Johnson Company).

Prof Moorman (Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the importance of identifying biomarkers for childhood relapsed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). He stresses the importance of gathering genetic information at the time of first diagnosis and of relapse in order to identify the best candidates for different treatment options. He also urges oncologists to enter their patients into clinical trials. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Dr Roberts (Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne, Australia) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the results of an early phase trial combining the anti-bcl-2 drug venetoclax with rituximab to eliminate chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.

Dr Cramer (University of Cologne, Köln, Germany) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about an international, multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 HELIOS study evaluating the efficacy and safety of ibrutinib in combination with bendamustine and rituximab (ibrutinib BR) compared with placebo plus bendamustine and rituximab (placebo BR) in patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

Dr Jessica Okosun (Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about her study on follicular lymphoma. The aim of the study was to identify novel gene mutations in follicular lymphoma that might serve as therapeutic targets. The RRAGC mutations lead to activation of mTORC1 in the absence of amino acids. Overall, the emergence of frequent, gain-of-function RRAGC mutations that are clonally represented and maintained during progression provides an excellent candidate to be therapeutically exploited.

Prof John Gribben (Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK) chairs an expert discussion for ecancertv at EHA 2015 with Prof Marivi Mateos (University Hospital of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain), Prof Umberto Vitolo (Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy) and Prof Paolo Ghia (Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele, Milan, Italy). Representing the spectrum of haematological malignancies, this panel consists of experts in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), multiple myeloma (MM) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Each expert discusses the most recent highlights of their field, including novel agents such as carfilzomib (MM) and PI3-kinase delta inhibitors such as idelalisib (CLL). The experts discuss the implications of these recent developments in their fields, including the cost and practicality of continuous therapy - and predict future directions of their fields. This programme has been supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Janssen Pharmaceutica (A Johnson & Johnson Company).

Dr Paiva (University Clinic of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain) talks to ecancertv at EHA 2015 about the need to better monitor minimal residual disease in multiple myeloma. ecancer's filming at EHA has been kindly supported by Amgen through the ECMS Foundation. ecancer is editorially independent and there is no influence over content.