We want to welcome you to the 2017 Best of ASCO at Miami where we are reviewing all the highlights of the American Society of Clinical Oncology conference that was done at the beginning of summer. My specialty is in malignant haematology and here today this afternoon we will be reviewing one of the highlights of ASCO 2017 malignant haematology. We’re going to be covering topics all the way from indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma to large B-cell or aggressive B-cell lymphomas, also chronic lymphocytic leukaemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and multiple myeloma.
Just to briefly touch upon some of the highlights of ASCO, malignant haematology is a very fast-evolving field where we have very exciting advacements in all the front-line settings, in leukaemias, lymphomas and myelomas. For instance, part of the recaps that we’re going to see today in multiple myeloma will be reviewing new therapeutic approaches to newly diagnosed multiple myeloma now that proteasome inhibitors and immunomodulatory medications have changed the natural history of multiple myeloma patients. Now we’re seeing also the involvement of monoclonal antibodies such as the anti-CD38 monoclonal antibody, daratumumab, which was tested, was included on the already well-known and used treatment combination of lenalidomide, dexamethasone and bortezomib and showed very impressive results.
Also, very exciting, we’re going to see developments both in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and also in multiple myeloma about the very famous gene therapy that is causing a lot of comment and talks among the public that is called chimeric antigen receptor T-cell or CAR T-cells that are revolutionary treatments for very hard diseases, including relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma and relapsed and refractory B-cell lymphomas. For instance, there was a trial that was presented at ASCO that showed very impressive overall response rates in multiple myeloma with CAR T-cells and it was also reviewed data from the already well-known trials of CAR T-cells in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma and other aggressive high grade lymphomas.
In the realm of CLL we’re going to also review longer follow-ups of all the well-known clinical trials with ibrutinib that is the Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor that still shows very impressive control rates of the disease with a very acceptable toxicity profile. Also in the realm of the acute leukaemias we’re also going to review new approaches to therapy including treatments with new FLT3 inhibitors that will be discussed in detail today by our distinguished faculty that will be talking this afternoon.
