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December 9-12, 2017
Georgia World Congress Center, Atlanta, GA
Dana-Farber at ASH 2017
As leaders in blood and blood cancer research, physicians and scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute participated in many ways at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in Atlanta, Georgia, December 9-12, 2017.
Attendees visited the Dana-Farber booth to connect with our adult and pediatric physicians and scientists – and to learn more about our discoveries, innovations, and clinical trials.
Dana-Farber Highlights at ASH 2017
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Irene Ghobrial, MD, on Identifying High Risk in Smoldering Multiple Myeloma
Irene Ghobrial, MD, discusses her team’s genomic analysis of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), a precursor to full-blown blood cancer. The study helped identify which patients with SMM are at high risk of progressing to overt myeloma.
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Caron Jacobson, MD, on CAR T-cell Therapy Data
Dana-Farber’s Caron Jacobson, MD, provides an update on the promising, long-term data presented at the ASH 2017 Annual Meeting on CAR T-cell therapy for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, multiple myeloma, and acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
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Matthew Davids, MD, MMSc, on Advances in CLL Treatment
Matthew Davids, MD, MMSc, of Dana-Farber’s Center for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia, shares updates at ASH on advances in treating newly-diagnosed and relapsed CLL. New approaches include ibrutinib + FCR for younger, newly-diagnosed patients and a combination of rituximab and venetoclax for relapsed patients.
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Andrew Lane, MD, PhD, Shares Updates at ASH 2017 on Treating BPDCN
Dr. Lane recaps the promising results presented at the ASH 2017 Annual Meeting from a phase 2 trial of SL-401 for blastic plasmacytoid dendritic cell neoplasm (BPDCN), as well as results from his lab exploring why some patients respond to SL-401 and others do not.
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ASH President and Dana-Farber's Ken Anderson, MD, Highlights Key Topics for 2017 ASH Annual Meeting
Targeted therapies and immunotherapy were among the highlights as oncology experts gathered at this year's ASH Annual Meeting. In a far-reaching Q & A, Dr. Anderson previewed exciting presentations of CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial results for
lymphoma and multiple myeloma, and a novel targeted therapy for the treatment of advanced systemic mastocytosis.
Read the full Q & A interview with ASH President Ken Anderson, MD.
Awards and Honors
- Congratulations to Benjamin Ebert, MD, PhD, Dana-Farber's Chair of Medical Oncology, who received the William Dameshek Prize, awarded to an individual no more than 50 years of age (at time of nomination) who has made outstanding contributions in hematology.
- Thank you to Kenneth Anderson, MD, Program Director of Dana-Farber's Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center, for serving as ASH President in 2017.
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View the schedule of presentations by Dana-Farber faculty.
New Findings from Dana-Farber Researchers, Presented at ASH 2017
Many Dana-Farber investigators have presented new research findings and advances at ASH 2017, including:
Study identifies agent that can reverse resistance to targeted drug in some leukemia cell types
After discovering how some hematologic cancer cells manage to elude death from a targeted therapy, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists have double-crossed the cancer cells with a drug that renders them vulnerable to the targeted agent.
Study explores use of checkpoint inhibitors after relapse from donor stem cell transplant for hematologic cancers
Immunotherapy agents known as checkpoint inhibitors have shown considerable promise in patients with hematologic cancers who relapse after a transplant with donor stem cells. Preliminary results from the first clinical trial in these patients of one such
agent — nivolumab — indicate that along with signs of effectiveness, it also produced significant side effects at the dose initially studied. The findings indicate a need for further clinical trials in this group before being considered for off-label
use with these patients.
Low-dose treatment with interleukin-2 across multiple studies shows benefits in chronic graft-versus-host disease
Daily low doses of the immune signaling protein interleukin-2 (IL-2) can safely benefit patients who develop chronic graft-versus-host disease following stem cell transplants, including particular benefit in pediatric patients in one small study.
Study shows combining chemotherapy with targeted drug boosts response in chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Among younger patients newly diagnosed with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), treatment with a combination of chemotherapy and a molecularly targeted drug significantly improves response over what is typically seen with chemotherapy alone, according
to an investigator-initiated multi-center phase II clinical trial.
Sequencing offers clues to progression toward multiple myeloma
Researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have carried out the largest genomic analysis of patients with smoldering multiple myeloma (SMM), a precursor to full-blown blood cancer that doesn't show outward symptoms. The next-generation sequencing project
will help to explain the biology of the disease and how it unfolds through time from asymptomatic stages to symptomatic ones.
Tracking how multiple myeloma evolves by sequencing DNA in the blood
Although people with multiple myeloma usually respond well to treatment, the blood cancer generally keeps coming back. Following genetic changes in how the disease evolves over time will help to understand the disease and, eventually, deliver more effective
treatments. Researchers now have successfully demonstrated techniques to track these alterations over time by analyzing cell-free DNA (cfDNA) found in blood.
Rapid responses, few adverse effects seen with targeted agent in Phase 1 trial in rare blood disorder
In a Phase 1 trial, patients with an advanced or aggressive form of systemic mastocytosis (AdvSM), a rare blood disorder, had rapid and durable responses with few adverse effects following treatment with an investigational drug that targets the genetic
mutation found in more than 90 percent of cases. The once-daily pill, BLU-285, targets a mutation called KIT D816V that is found in almost all cases of AdvSM, a disease that originates in mast cells, a type of white blood cell.
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Highlights from Dana-Farber at ASH 2016
Paul Richardson, MD, gives an overview of multiple myeloma advances from ASH 2016.
Matthew Davids, MD, discusses a study he led showing encouraging results of a drug combination in patients with relapsed forms of leukemia or lymphoma.
Kenneth C. Anderson, MD, talks about becoming the 2017 President of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) and research to be presented at the 58th annual ASH meeting in San Diego.
Dana-Farber at ASH 2016
As leaders in blood and blood cancer research, physicians and scientists from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center showcased
their advances at the 58th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) in San Diego, California, in December of 2016.
As the premier conference in the field, the ASH Annual Meeting attracts more than 20,000 experts who share their advances in hematologic malignancies, including leukemia, lymphoma, and multiple myeloma, as well as other blood disorders.
Attendees visited our Dana-Farber and Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s booths to connect with our adult and pediatric physicians and scientists – and learn more about our discoveries, innovations, and clinical trials.
Dana-Farber Presentations at ASH 2016
Many faculty from Dana-Farber’s Center for Hematologic Oncology presented advances at ASH 2016.
View the schedule of select presentations.
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Dana-Farber research highlights from ASH 2016
Mutations in lymphoma patients undergoing transplants raise risk of second cancers
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significant percentage of lymphoma patients undergoing transplants with their own blood stem cells carry acquired genetic mutations that increase their risks of developing second hematologic cancers and dying from other causes, according to a study
from Dana-Farber researchers.
Children with Down syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia fare as well as other children treated on Dana-Farber ALL Consortium protocols
Despite
an elevated risk of toxicity from chemotherapy, children with Down syndrome and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) did not experience higher rates of relapse or treatment-related mortality compared with other children treated on Dana-Farber ALL Consortium
Protocols.
Immunotherapy agent yields full and partial remissions in patients with aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphomas, study finds
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immunotherapy drug able to induce lasting remissions in classical Hodgkin lymphoma may be equally effective in patients with two rare, aggressive forms of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, results from Dana-Farber researchers show.
Early treatment may prevent progression to multiple myeloma
Early intervention
with an immunotherapy-based drug combination may prevent progression of high-risk “smoldering” multiple myeloma to the full-blown disease, according to researchers from Dana-Farber.
Drug combination yields encouraging results in patients with relapsed forms of leukemia or lymphoma in early stage study
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study led by Dana-Farber researchers shows a combination of two targeted agents has demonstrated safety as well as encouraging signs of effectiveness in a clinical trial in patients with relapsed or hard-to-treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia or mantle
cell lymphoma.
Genetic classification offers guide to stem cell transplantation for patients with myelodysplastic syndrome
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blood test can indicate whether some patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) are likely to benefit from a stem cell transplant and, if so, whether the transplant should involve high or moderate doses of chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy,
according to a study by scientists at Dana-Farber.
Select 2016 publications by Dana-Farber faculty