Real-World Analysis of Barriers to Timely Administration of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CAR T) Therapy in Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.

The implementation of chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR T) therapy in the real-world setting is hindered by logistical and financial barriers, impacting timely access to this life-saving treatment. Clinical trials have reported the time from leukapheresis to CAR T cell infusion (vein-to-vein time) but not the time from CAR T referral to infusion (decision-to-vein time). Herein, we report the barriers to CAR T therapy in a real-world setting.

The shrinking role of chemotherapy in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The therapeutic landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has changed significantly since the first targeted therapy, rituximab, was approved for the treatment of symptomatic patients. Areas covered: Multiple monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) and small molecule inhibitors (SMIs) that target the B-cell receptor (BCR) and BCL-2 pathways are now approved treatments for CLL patients. Recent and emerging clinical data investigating the use of targeted therapies in the treatment of CLL patients will be reviewed.

Reducing the Time From Diagnosis to Treatment of Patients With Stage II/III Rectal Cancer at a Large Public Hospital.

Curative-intent therapy for stage II/III rectal cancer is necessarily complex. Current guidelines by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network recommend preoperative concurrent chemoradiation followed by resection and additional adjuvant chemotherapy. We used standard quality improvement methodology to implement a cost-effective intervention that reduced the time from diagnosis to treatment of patients with stage II/III rectal cancer by approximately 30% in a large public hospital in Houston, Texas.

Outcome of Patients With Nonsecretory Multiple Myeloma After Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Introduction: Fewer than 5% of patients have nonsecretory multiple myeloma (NSM), which is characterized by the absence of monoclonal protein in immunofixation in serum and urine. There are limited data on the outcome of NSM after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HCT).

Patients And Methods: Between 1988 and December 2010, we identified 31 patients with NSM, and compared their outcome with 124 patients with secretory myeloma (SM) who were matched for age, disease stage, year of auto-HCT, and disease status and received auto-HCT at our institution.