Nicholas Short, MD, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, gives an update on the results of the Phase II trial investigating the use of blinatumomab plus ponatinib to treat Philadelphia chromosome-positive (Ph+) acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The aim of this treatment is to reduce the need for allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). A chemotherapy-free combination of the two drugs was tested in patients with both newly diagnosed and relapsed/refractory (R/R) Ph+ ALL. 35 patients have been treated in the study so far. Dr Short reports that 85% of patients treated in the frontline setting achieved a complete molecular response (CMR) and that 88% of patients in the R/R setting achieved a CMR. In the frontline setting no patients relapsed and no patients required HSCT. The study concluded that blinatumomab plus ponatinib was well-tolerated and is a suitable treatment for newly diagnosed Ph+ ALL patients. This interview took place at the virtual European Hematology Association (EHA) Congress 2021.

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