CLL Society ASH 2020 Day 4 Updates and Wrap-Up Dec. 8th was the 4th and final day of ASH 2020, the American Society of Hematology Annual meeting and Exposition. Less fun! No hugs. But we are leaving with a lot of treats and the promise of much more to come. Here is some of what I am taking away from ASH 2020.
We heard some compelling data on new generations of targeted drugs that are better tolerated such as experimental reversable BTKis that are active when CLL has stopped responding to the approved medications; a new PI3Ki with an improved safety profile; deeper ways to measure MRD which is being increasingly recognized as a powerful predictive tool for guiding therapy; dozens of combinations of experimental and approved novel agents, showing amazing results. 100% ORR (overall response rates) were not uncommon; research on predicting whose disease will be more aggressive & who will respond to a particular drug. Venetoclax: The boomerang drug! It seems there is life after progression on Venetoclax, as it sometimes works again when given a second chance!
We learned that CAR-T cells should soon have an important place in treating CLL. And we even heard that 2/3 patients with RT responded to a “fresh”, locally made, never frozen CAR-T product.
It wasn’t all good news: CLL patient meets COVID-19 is still bad news and that the new shingles vaccine may not have strong effect. And let’s not forget that we remain at higher risk for infections and second cancers. Outrageously, too many doctors are still not doing proper testing on their CLL patients and that too many are still using CIT (chemo-immuno-therapy) when it won’t work. Spread the word on our Test Before Treat™ and Expert Access Programs™ to empower patients to get the testing they need and a free expert second opinion!
Expect 100s of ZOOM interviews, videos, and written reports from this most important hematology meeting of the year over the next 12 months.
We are recognizing that, while the progress has been enormous, there is still much to be done. cllsociety.org/2020/12/ash-...
Move over MRD Negative and make way for uMRD - Undetectable Minimal Residual Disease
