Tag: Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

Investigator-Initiated Trial: Sequential Regimen of Intensive Chemotherapy Followed by Stem Cell Transplant for Refractory Lymphoma

Update: this study is closed to enrollment. 

The Weill Cornell Hematologic Malignancies & Bone Marrow Transplant Program is now enrolling men and women with relapsed or refractory lymphoma (non-Hodgkin or Hodgkin) and who are in need of a stem cell transplant for an investigator-initiated clinical trial. The principal investigator is Tsiporah B. Shore, M.D. For more information about the study, please call June Greenberg, RN at (212) 746-2651, e-mail June at jdg2002@med.cornell.edu, or call the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at (212) 746-2119.

Study Details

This clinical trial is for men and women whose lymphoma (non-Hodgkin or Hodgkin) did not respond to treatment or has returned after responding to previous therapy, and who are in need of a stem cell transplant.

The purpose of the study is to test the safety and effectiveness of giving the drug Bendamustine, followed by high dose chemotherapy, within two weeks prior to a stem cell transplant for lymphoma that has not achieved a complete response to salvage chemotherapy (treatment used for relapsed disease).

Bendamustine is FDA-approved for the treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia. Although Bendamustine has been used in stem cell research studies, the timing and combination of Bendamustine and the conditioning regimen BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine arabinoside, and melphalan) prior to transplant is not approved by the FDA, thus the combination therapy used in this research study is considered experimental.

Autologous stem cell transplants refer to stem cells that are collected from an individual and given back to that same individual after high dose chemotherapy. With this type of transplant, the person’s stem cells are obtained prior to high-dose chemotherapy, frozen, stored-if necessary, and then given back afterward. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation refers to stem cells that are collected from a donor.

Treatment Plan

Study participants will receive Continue reading “Investigator-Initiated Trial: Sequential Regimen of Intensive Chemotherapy Followed by Stem Cell Transplant for Refractory Lymphoma”

Lymphoma in the News: Family History May Be a Risk Factor for Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma

By Peter Martin, MD

A recently published study from investigators at Stanford University and in Lund University in Sweden used data from a large Swedish cohort study, birth records, and cancer registries to look for risk factors associated with development of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The investigators evaluated the records of over 3.5 million people, including 936 with NHL, born between 1973 and 2008.

They reported that family history of NHL was associated with development of NHL in early life. Specifically, history of NHL in a sibling increased the risk of developing NHL roughly nine-fold while having a parent with NHL increased the risk of NHL roughly two-fold. Importantly, the overall incidence rate of NHL was 1.4 per 100,000 person-years (the number of people x the number of years of follow-up per person). Therefore, a two-fold increase, although statistically significant, would only have increased the rate to roughly 3 per 100,000 person years. Moreover, only 4 of the 936 cases had a sibling with NHL and 10 had a parent with NHL.

These small numbers, although statistically significant, make it difficult to make any definitive conclusions regarding the degree of risk. The lack of data regarding environmental exposures, infections, and other co-existing conditions (e.g., immunodeficiencies) make it difficult to determine whether the familial association of NHL is due to an inherited condition or some other unmeasured factor. Despite the issues, the results are consistent with the concept that genetic factors may contribute to NHL. It is possible that contemporary studies using next generation sequencing of the genomes of patients and family members could yield more conclusive results. The risks and benefits of such studies, however, need to be weighed very carefully.

OncLive: Dr. John Leonard Discusses What’s New in DLBCL Treatment

At the 16th Annual International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies, Dr. John Leonard, the director of the Lymphoma Program at Weill Cornell Medical College, discussed several novel therapies currently under investigation for DLBCL. Today OncLive published an article, “Beyond R-CHOP-21: What’s New in Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma” summarizing Dr. Leonard’s discussion.

“The current standard for patients with advanced diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is R-CHOP-21 (21-day rituximab-cyclophosphamidedoxorubicin- vincristine-prednisone). However, while this regimen cures approximately two-thirds of patients, a significant fraction of patients will still relapse, and the prognosis for these patients is poor.”

Approaches being evaluated include substituting an alternate chemotherapy regimen for CHOP in combination with rituximab; R-EPOCH (rituximabetoposide- prednisone-vincristine-doxorubicin-cyclophosphamide); and adding a new agent to R-CHOP-21.

Click here to read the full article in in OncLive.