Peripheral Neuropathy in the Phase 3 ASPEN Study of Bruton Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors for Waldenström Macroglobulinemia.

Peripheral neuropathy (PN) is a significant cause of morbidity associated with Waldenström macroglobulinemia (WM). The phase 3 ASPEN study compared the efficacy and safety of zanubrutinib with ibrutinib in patients with WM. This ad hoc analysis examined treatment outcomes with zanubrutinib or ibrutinib on PN symptoms associated with WM in patients enrolled in ASPEN.

Life-threatening antibodies: The discovery of anaphylaxis.

It was at the turn of the 20th century, that immune serum was found both to save children dying from toxins of deadly pathogens, and to kill a dog within minutes following an injection of harmless doses of sea anemone toxins. This means that, before being formally identified in immune serum, antibodies were already known to be both protective and pathogenic. For this provocative finding, Charles Richet was awarded the 1913 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Antibodies and complement are key drivers of thrombosis.

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a common, deadly disease with an increasing incidence despite preventive efforts. Clinical observations have associated elevated antibody concentrations or antibody-based therapies with thrombotic events. However, how antibodies contribute to thrombosis is unknown.

Antibody feedback regulation.

Antibodies are able to up- or downregulate antibody responses to the antigen they bind. Two major mechanisms can be distinguished. Suppression is most likely caused by epitope masking and can be induced by all isotypes tested (IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b, IgG3, IgM, and IgE).

A + AVD for Treatment of Hodgkin Lymphoma Variant of Richter's Transformation.

Hodgkin lymphoma variant of Richter's transformation (HvRT) is a rare complication for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), with an overall poor prognosis. We present the first known case series of patients with HvRT treated with the combination of brentuximab vedotin, doxorubicin, vinblastine, and dacarbazine (A + AVD). In our series of 4 patients, two patients treated with A + AVD for HvRT had durable remissions of 40 and 42 months, while two patients had disease progression and ultimately died.