Below are summaries of study analyses presented in December by researchers affiliated with the ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group and PrECOG, LLC. These analyses were presented at either the 66th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego or the 2024 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS). Click on the links to access more information.

Highlights

Breast Cancer – Selected for the SABCS official press program –  For patients with ‘good-risk’ ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) who underwent breast-conserving surgery and did not receive radiotherapy, the estimated 15-year risk of a recurrence in the same breast was 11.4% for those treated with tamoxifen and 19% for those who did not receive tamoxifen. This finding is from an analysis of combined data from two trials: ECOG-ACRIN E5194 and NRG/RTOG 9804. Presenter: Jean L. Wright. MD (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill). Read the press release.

Breast Cancer – Selected for the SABCS official press program –  In the phase 3 PATINA trial, the addition of palbociclib to current standard-of-care first-line maintenance therapy (following induction chemotherapy) resulted in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in progression-free survival in patients with hormone receptor-positive (HR+), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-positive (HER2+) metastatic breast cancer. PrECOG is among the large group of collaborators on this study co-led by Alliance Foundation Trials and Pfizer Inc. Presenter: Otto Metzger, MD (Dana-Farber Cancer Institute). Read the press release.

Lymphoma – Selected for the ASH official press program  – The phase 3 study EA4151 found that autologous stem cell transplants do not improve survival for mantle cell lymphoma patients in first complete remission with undetectable minimal residual disease (MRD). Patients who remain MRD-positive after induction may benefit from ASCT. Longer follow-up will be essential to confirm these findings. Presenter: Timothy S. Fenske, MD (Medical College of Wisconsin). Read the press release.

Notable

Leukemia – Previous studies showed that adding midostaurin, an oral multi-kinase inhibitor, to intensive chemotherapy prolongs survival in patients with newly diagnosed FLT3 mutated (FLT3m) acute myeloid leukemia (AML). PrE0905, a phase 2 trial by PrECOG, evaluated gilteritinib, a more potent and selective FLT3 inhibitor, in the same patient population (gilteritinib is approved as a single agent in relapsed/refractory FLT3m AML). Gilteritinib resulted in higher remission and transplant rates than midostaurin but did not increase the post-induction mutational MRD negative rate. Presenter: Selina M. Luger, MD (University of Pennsylvania). Read the abstract.

Lymphoma – Study EA4181 was conducted to determine the optimal upfront treatment for fit patients aged 70 and younger with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). This trial compared three treatments. The control arm consisted of the usual approach: chemotherapy (bendamustine and cytarabine) plus rituximab. Arm 2 included standard therapy plus a newer Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitor, acalabrutinib, which patients take orally. Arm 3 used bendamustine/rituximab plus acalabrutinib (no cytarabine). The study found high undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) rates across all three arms. The addition of acalabrutinib to standard therapy added toxicity without improving efficacy. Although bendamustine/rituximab plus acalabrutinib was not superior, it was the least toxic option. Presenter: Nina D. Wagner-Johnston, MD (Johns Hopkins University). Read the abstract.