Survival from multiple myeloma (MM) has improved, and more attention is required for symptom burden and psychological impact in the long-term management of this disease. Researchers assessed the incidence of self-reported pain, depression, financial and family burden, and impairment of performance status, as well as determined the correlation of total distress with survival. Joshua R. Richter, MD, at the John Theurer Cancer Center in Hackensack, NJ, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Researchers assessed the impact of physical activity levels before and after cancer diagnosis on overall survival (OS) and lymphoma-specific survival (LSS) outcomes in patients with lymphoma. They found that higher levels of physical activity during adult life and within three years of diagnosis improve survival. Priyanka Pophali, MD, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) often experience symptoms and treatment-related adverse events (AEs) that are chronic and may require care from an interdisciplinary team. A study sought to assess symptom burden, palliative care needs, and experiences with healthcare team communication in this patient population. Alexandra K. Zaleta, PhD, at the Research and Training Institute, Cancer Support Community in Philadelphia, PA, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Surgical modality and receipt of chemotherapy or radiotherapy are not associated with sexual function, as measured by the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). Patients receiving endocrine therapy with an aromatase inhibitor had significantly lower sexual function scores than those who received no endocrine therapy or those on tamoxifen, said a group of U.S. researchers who presented their findings during a poster session on Saturday, December 10, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The uptake of prophylactic surgeries among Latinas with germline BRCA mutations may be slightly lower than what has been reported in non-Hispanic whites but higher than in African Americans, a group of U.S. researchers said. They presented their findings on Saturday, December 10, during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Ibrutinib is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Researchers sought to study real-world outcomes related to adverse events (AEs), treatment discontinuation, outcomes, and subsequent therapies in those treated with frontline ibrutinib. Anthony R. Mato, MD, at the University of Pennsylvania Abramson Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Researchers conducted a randomized study to assess the impact of survivorship care plans (SCPs) on cancer survivors who underwent hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). They assessed confidence in survivorship information (primary analysis), as well as cancer treatment distress, knowledge of transplant exposures, health behaviors, healthcare use, and health general self-efficacy. Navneet S. Majhail, MD, MS, at the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Data are limited on repeated unplanned hospital readmissions among patients with hematologic malignancies, so researchers analyzed baseline characteristics of patients with one or more 30-day unplanned readmissions, as well as factors related to these readmissions. Girish Kunapareddy, MD, at the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Unplanned hospitalizations and emergency department (ED) visits are an ongoing problem for patients with cancer. At the Taussig Cancer Institute, just 6% of all discharged patients accounted for more than 40% of unplanned readmissions (defined as a hospitalization occurring within 30 days of discharge). Those patients are also at high risk for future admissions, intensive care unit (ICU) stay, ED visits, overuse of chemotherapy, and underuse of hospice resources. Researchers developed an individualized care plan (ICP) for patients with the highest preventable use to see if this would impact hospital use and readmissions. Girish Kunapareddy, MD, at the Taussig Cancer Institute at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Exercise—preferably supervised—represents a viable intervention for prevention and treatment of fatigue among patients with breast cancer, a group of Australian, European, and U.S. researchers said. They presented their findings during a poster session on Saturday, December 9, during the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The presence of type 2 diabetes mellitus at the time of breast cancer diagnosis has been suggested to adversely affect survival—independent of breast cancer stage, grade, and tumor phenotype—but few of those studies included people of Hispanic descent. Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and the University of Louisville in Kentucky examined the association between self-reported diabetes history, breast cancer-specific and all-cause mortality among Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women diagnosed with breast cancer. They presented their results on Saturday, December 9, during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Venetoclax—an oral, small-molecule BCL-2 inhibitor—is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in those with del(17p) mutation. Statins, which are used to lower cholesterol, have shown a potential to induce apoptosis in various cancer cell lines, and evidence suggests a synergism when combined with BCL-2 inhibition. Based on this, researchers conducted a post-hoc analysis to see whether statins enhance the activity of venetoclax in patients with CLL or multiple myeloma (MM). Andrew W. Roberts, MS, at AbbVie Inc., in North Chicago, IL, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN) have increased inflammatory cytokines that contribute to symptom burden and nutritional deficiencies. Some studies have indicated that diets and supplements have demonstrated antioxidant and anti-inflammatory pharmacologic properties, such as decreased inflammatory markers and reactive oxygen species. Researchers conducted a study to examine nutritional and supplemental needs in this patient population. Robyn M. Scherber, MD, at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Researchers assessed how patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) describe quality of life (QoL) compared to other U.S. populations, as well as the effects on daily living, finances, and professional and family relationships. Joanne S. Buzaglo, PhD, at the Research and Training Institute, Cancer Support Community in Philadelphia, PA, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Patient-reported outcomes (PROs) are an important part of patient management but may be burdensome for patients to track. Wearable activity monitors provide objective, continuous activity data that may correlate with PROs, and researchers assessed the use of this technology in a study. Carrie A. Thompson, MD, at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

No data exist on current trends and practice patterns for palliative care use among patients with cancer, particularly those with hematologic malignancies. Sikander Ailawadhi, MD, at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL, discussed their findings on these trends at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Data from U.S. Lymphocare suggest that older patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) are more commonly treated with watchful waiting or single-agent rituximab and found no difference in outcomes by treatment groups, but comorbidity was not studied. Researchers aimed to describe patient features, comorbidity use of positron-emission tomography (PET) staging, management choices, and the impact of polypharmacy on outcomes of patients with FL aged 70 years or older. Prathima Reddy, MD, at CHI Franciscan Hospital in Federal Way, WA, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Ibrutinib is a first-in-class, once-daily inhibitor of Bruton tyrosine kinase that is approved for various B-cell malignancies. However, the drug is associated with increased rates of low-grade hemorrhage and sometimes serious hemorrhage, which is listed as a warning in the  prescribing information. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) are at an increased risk for major hemorrhage (MH) compared to the general population.

Many lymphoma treatments are known to affect the immune system, so researchers assessed whether survivors of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have an altered risk of developing autoimmune and infectious diseases compared to other cancer survivors. Tanaya Shree, MD, PhD, at Stanford University Medical Center in California, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

CPX-351 is a dual-drug liposomal encapsulation of cytarabine and daunorubicin that delivers a synergistic drug ratio. In a randomized, phase III study, researchers evaluated induction therapy with CPX-351 versus conventional cytarabine/daunorubicin (referred to as 7+3 regimen) in adults aged 60–75 years with newly diagnosed, treatment-related acute myeloid leukemia (AML) or AML with myelodysplasia-related changes. Bruno C Medeiros, MD, at Stanford University School of Medicine in California, discussed the findings at the ASH Annual Meeting.

Ongoing and increasing evidence suggest that an equivalent rate of mutations may be found regardless of whether patients meet current testing criteria, according to a large group of community breast physicians. They presented their findings on Friday, December 8, during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Metabolic syndrome is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and possibly cancer recurrence, and its occurrence is higher in breast cancer survivors than age-matched postmenopausal women. Now, a study on exercise has found that aerobic and resistance exercise intervention reduced metabolic syndrome in sedentary, overweight, and obese Hispanic breast cancer survivors. U.S. researchers presented their findings during a poster session on Friday, December 8, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Significantly higher rates of death are found in Medicaid and uninsured hospital admissions when compared to Medicare-enrolled admissions with breast cancer, suggesting that insurance status “appears to play a crucial role in patient outcomes.” Researchers with Drexel University in Philadelphia presented their findings on Friday, December 8, during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

Patients with breast cancer who are younger than 40 years are likely to have unfavorable subtypes, higher stage, and lower overall survival and disease-free survival (DFS) as compared to their older counterparts, according to researchers at the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. They presented their findings on Friday, December 8, during the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium. 

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with the inability to reach pathologic complete response (pCR) in patients with breast cancer undergoing neoadjuvant systemic chemotherapy (NAC), and a trend for worse survival was seen in patients with triple negative tumors. Results from an analysis were presented on Thursday, December 7, during a poster session at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium (SABCS).

Whole breast radiation therapy in isocentric lateral decubitus position is well tolerated with good cosmesis and low rates of fibrosis, said a group that had previously confirmed the efficacy and safety of the technique. Researchers from the Institut Curie in Paris presented their results during a poster session on Thursday, December 7, at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.