Tag: John Leonard MD

Lymphoma Physicians Discuss Lenalidomide Plus Rituximab as Initial Mantle Cell Lymphoma Treatment

Recently Dr. John Leonard was interviewed by the Lymphoma Research Foundation and answered questions about the current state of treatment for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Specifically, they discussed how results from the 2015, New England Journal of Medicine published study, “Lenalidomide plus Rituximab as Initial Treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma” has improved the treatment options for MCL patients. This multi-center phase 2 study showed that a combination therapy, lacking many of the typical debilitating effects of traditional cancer treatment could effectively manage MCL by inducing remissions in the vast majority of patients.

Dr. Leonard, the study’s senior author, described the potential impact of this research and how it could improve our understanding of MCL and treatment as follows,

“This research provides an additional option for patients with MCL and represents the first study of a non-chemotherapy approach that is generally of lower intensity than usual initial treatment. The fact that the majority of patients had durable disease control, with good quality of life, suggests that this approach may have value for some patients. Ongoing research will better assess the longer term outcomes with this approach, and how it either compares with or can be combined with other treatments. This study demonstrates the value of potentially using newer agents as part of initial treatment in MCL, rather than holding off until the disease recurs later.”

In April 2016 the study was nominated by the Clinical Research Forum as one of their Top 10 Clinical Research Achievement Awards of 2016. The 10 winning papers were chosen based on their degree of innovation from a pool of more than 40 nominations from 30 research and academic health centers nationwide.

In the video below you can watch the study’s lead author Dr. Jia Ruan describe the importance of her team’s findings.

The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society Names John P. Leonard, MD its 2016 Manhattan Light the Night Corporate Chair

John Leonard, MD
John P. Leonard, MD

The New York City Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) named Lymphoma Program Director, John P. Leonard, MD of Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian the corporate chair for Manhattan’s 2016 Light the Night event. Light the Night brings together friends, family members, and co-workers who form fundraising teams to support the lifesaving research, that will improve the quality of live for all patients with blood cancers.

“Supporting Light The Night is a powerful way to partner with LLS to raise critical funds for blood cancer research,” said Dr. Leonard. “I am honored to serve as the chair and look forward to encouraging other organizations and businesses to join me in supporting LLS by participating in Light The Night.”

Each year, Light The Night brings together friends, family members and co-workers who form fundraising teams to support lifesaving research and improve the quality of lives of patients and their families. Participants in nearly 200 communities across North America join together carrying illuminated lanterns to take steps to end cancer – white for survivors, red for supporters and gold in memory of loved ones lost to cancer.

The 2016 Manhattan Light the Night event will be hosted by Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork Presbyterian. This year it will be held on Thursday, October 6th at 5:30pm at Rumsey Playfield in Central Park.

You can join, or donate to the Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork Presbyterian on our Light the Night team page.

Dr. John Leonard Discusses Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell Therapy for Patients with Advanced B-Cell Lymphoma

In an article from Healio HemOnc Today, Lymphoma Program Director Dr. John Leonard commented on a study presented at the 2016 ASCO meeting, which reported that for patients with advanced B-cell lymphoma, remission could be induced through a combination of low-dose chemotherapy and genetically modified T-cells. These genetically modified T-cells are known as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cells. They are modified to specifically target the CD-19 proteins found on the surface of B-cells. On the findings of the study he said,

“These represent additional data that show that this treatment regimen has potential in the treatment of patients with resistant, aggressive lymphoma. As far as follow-up is concerned, we need additional studies with larger groups of patients, with longer follow-up periods, to see if these responses are going to be durable.”

Look to this space for additional information on CAR T-cell therapy at Weill Cornell Medicine.