PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

ASCO: New antibody-drug conjugate shows promising safety and response rates for patients with rare blood cancer

2025-06-02
(Press-News.org) Blastic plasmacytoid dendric cell neoplasm (BPDCN) is a rare, aggressive blood cancer that often involves the bone marrow, skin and, sometimes, lymph nodes. First-in-class antibody-drug conjugate, pivekimab sunirine (PVEK), was safe and effective. PVEK achieved an overall response rate of 85% and complete response rate of 70% as frontline treatment in newly diagnosed patients with BPDCN. Findings suggest this treatment should be considered as a new standard of care for these patients. ABSTRACT: 6502 

CHICAGO, JUNE 2, 2025 ― The first-in-class antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) pivekimab sunirine (PVEK) demonstrated promising efficacy and high response rates for patients with blastic plasmacytoid dendric cell neoplasm (BPDCN), according to data from a Phase I/II study led by researchers from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

These results suggest that PVEK should be considered a potential new standard treatment option for patients with BPDCN, a rare, aggressive blood cancer that involves the skin, bone marrow and lymph nodes.

Findings from the CADENZA study were presented today at the 2025 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting by Naveen Pemmaraju, M.D., professor of Leukemia, who led the trial together with Naval Daver, M.D., professor of Leukemia.

As a frontline treatment in 33 newly diagnosed patients with BPDCN, researchers observed an overall response rate of 85%, including a complete response rate of 70% with a median overall survival of 16.6 months.

“Patients with BPDCN are in need of improved frontline therapies to treat their disease, so we’re very excited to see this trial going extremely well in terms of safety and efficacy,” Pemmaraju said. “The responses we have observed make PVEK a strong candidate as a standard-of-care treatment.”

The current standard-of-care treatment for patients with BPDCN is tagraxofusp-erzs, which targets CD123 found at high levels on certain cancer cells, including BPDCN. MD Anderson researchers helped advance tagraxofusp-erzs toward Food and Drug Administration approval in 2018.

PVEK represents a next generation of CD123-targeted treatment. As an ADC, it works by delivering a drug directly to cancer cells by targeting CD123 on the surface of BPDCN cells, resulting in death of the cancer cells.

The global multi-center trial enrolled a total of 84 adult patients with CD123-positive BPDCN. Of these patients, 33 patients were newly diagnosed, and 51 patients had relapsed or refractory BPDCN with one, two or three prior lines of therapy. Participants received the therapy intravenously on day one of a 21-day cycle in an outpatient setting.

The most common side effects included peripheral edema, which was reversible and found to be manageable.

Given the results of this trial, there is potential for investigating combination therapies of CD123-targeted agent PVEK with other treatments active in BPDCN in future clinical trials, Pemmaraju explained.

The clinical trial was funded by AbbVie. Pemmaraju has served on the advisory board and as a consultant for AbbVie. Daver has received research support and has served on the advisory board and as a consultant for AbbVie. A complete list of collaborating authors and their disclosures can be found here. 

More information on all MD Anderson ASCO Annual Meeting content can be found at MDAnderson.org/ASCO. 

END


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Advancing personalized medicine through pharmacogenomics: Insights from Ochsner Health

2025-06-02
In a report recently published in the American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, the Ochsner Health system delves into the multifaceted implementation of pharmacogenomics—a rapidly evolving field that examines how genetics influence individual responses to medication. This comprehensive article, led by Dr. Catherine Oliver and a team of experts in pharmacy services, provides an insightful blueprint for health systems aiming to integrate pharmacogenomics into clinical practice.  "Pharmacogenomics embodies a new frontier in precision medicine, enabling us to fine-tune treatments ...

Researchers tested an asthma drug for treating alcoholism. It failed except with this group

2025-06-02
Key takeaways Ibudilast is a drug approved in Japan for the treatment of asthma and post-stroke dizziness by targeting inflammation; previous research suggested it could also help people reduce their drinking.  A UCLA clinical trial, however, has now shown that ibudilast worked no better than a placebo for trial participants in reducing alcohol consumption, although it did have a positive effect on women. Women tend to have higher levels of inflammation than men, and the results of ibudilast testing with women point toward ...

Set it and forget it: Autonomous structures can be programmed to jump days in advance

2025-06-02
Researchers have created dynamic structures that leap into the air on a predetermined schedule without intervention from computers or external stimuli. Precisely when these “metashells” jump, and how high they jump, is engineered into the physical structure of the materials. “There are structures that ‘jump’ immediately when loading is removed – such as when a coiled spring is released,” says Jie Yin, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor of mechanical engineering at North Carolina State University. “We wanted to create a structure that does not rely on external stimuli and allows us to dictate the timing ...

Iron from coal, steel industries alters North Pacific ecosystem

2025-06-02
Along with nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus, iron is essential for the growth of microscopic phytoplankton in the ocean. However, a new study led by oceanographers at the University of Hawai‘i (UH) at Mānoa revealed that iron released from industrial processes, such as coal combustion and steel making, is altering the ecosystem in the North Pacific Transition Zone, a region just north of Hawai‘i that is important for fisheries in the Pacific. The study was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA. “This ...

Canadian researcher receives funding from ARIA to unlock potential of plants

2025-06-02
Imagine a world where crops can thrive regardless of climate or disease and provide all the essential nutrients our bodies need. Researchers at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry are now part of a U.K.-based initiative to explore that very possibility.   The Advanced Research + Invention Agency (ARIA), the U.K.’s research and development funding agency, announced June 2 that Schulich Medicine & Dentistry professor Bogumil Karas has been named ...

Visionary support from Veale Foundation will establish university hospitals Veale Healthcare Transformation Institute

2025-06-02
CLEVELAND – A new visionary gift from the Veale Foundation will establish the University Hospitals Veale Healthcare Transformation Institute. The $23.5 million in support represents an investment in University Hospitals’ value-based care initiatives. Peter J. Pronovost, MD, PhD, UH Chief Quality and Clinical Transformation Officer, will serve as the institute’s founding and first president. “Healthcare today tells a story of scarcity – it harms too often, costs too much and learns and ...

Investigating cocaine addiction using fruit flies

2025-06-02
In a new JNeurosci paper, Adrian Rothenfluh and colleagues from the University of Utah developed a fruit fly model of cocaine self-administration that can be used to explore the genetic underpinnings of cocaine addiction.   To model voluntary cocaine intake in fruit flies, or Drosophila melanogaster, the researchers first assessed cocaine consumption and preferences of this insect. Cocaine was innately aversive to fruit flies because it activated their bitter-sensing receptors. In other words, the fruit flies did not like cocaine’s ...

Fruit flies on cocaine could reveal better therapies for addiction

2025-06-02
For the first time, researchers have created genetically modified fruit flies that can become addicted to cocaine. The flies will self-administer cocaine if given the option. The new model could prove immensely valuable for the development of new therapies to prevent and treat cocaine use disorder, a growing and deadly concern that affects about 1.5 million people nationwide. Heredity strongly impacts the risk of developing cocaine use disorder, but the large number of genes implicated in addiction risk has made it difficult to determine which might be the best targets for therapeutics. With their new fruit fly model ...

New data shows MMR vaccination rate decline across US

2025-06-02
A new county-level dataset from Johns Hopkins University researchers reveals a national decline in the measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) vaccination rate among U.S. children since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Out of 2,066 studied counties, 1,614 counties, 78%, reported drops in vaccinations and the average county-level vaccination rate fell 93.92% pre-pandemic to 91.26% post-pandemic—an average decline of 2.67%, moving further away from the 95% herd immunity threshold to predict or limit the spread of measles. Only four of the 33 states in studied—California, ...

Clinical validation of a circulating tumor DNA–based blood test to screen for colorectal cancer

2025-06-02
About The Study: In an average-risk colorectal cancer screening population, a blood-based test demonstrated acceptable accuracy for colorectal cancer detection, but detection of advanced precancerous lesions remains a challenge, and ongoing efforts are needed to improve test sensitivity.  Corresponding Author: To contact the corresponding author, Theodore R. Levin, MD, email theodore.levin@kp.org. To access the embargoed study: Visit our For The Media website at this link https://media.jamanetwork.com/ (doi:10.1001/jama.2025.7515) Editor’s Note: Please see the article for additional ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

New 3D-printing method makes two materials from one resin

A better understanding of how gene editing tools work

Tool for protecting soldiers’ brain health earns $3.2 million grant

Virginia Tech researcher earns American Heart Association fellowship to explore how obesity increases the risk for heart disease

Study identifies personality traits associated with bedtime procrastination

How late college students go to sleep is influenced by the need to belong

Discovery of giant planet orbiting tiny star challenges theories on planet formation

Blood sugar response to various carbohydrates can point to metabolic health subtypes, study finds

Why AI can’t understand a flower the way humans do

Top scientists call for permanent ban on high seas exploitation

A new blood-based epigenetic clock for aging focuses on intrinsic capacity

Creating ice layer by layer: the secret mechanisms of ice formation revealed

Life from oceans to savannas explained with one single rule

From mixed to matched: new marker pinpoints therapeutically relevant stem cell–derived islets

A giant planet around a tiny star: A discovery that challenges planet formation theories

One single rule helps explain life from ocean depths to open savannas

Can early exposure to dogs lessen genetic susceptibility to eczema?

Are stress and resilience factors among gender and sexual minority adolescents related to sleep health?

How does a common plant pathogen affect urban trees, and how should it be managed?

Which seeds are best to include in annual flowering seed mixes to attract insect pollinators?

How useful are states’ adolescent social media laws?

Evidence to support state policies regulating teen use of social media is limited, study finds

Pet dogs could combat genetic eczema risk in children

A threesome that hatches potato parasites

Young people discover the technologies shaping their future in the World Economic Forum and Frontiers for Young Minds collection

Real-time 3D visualization reveals potent antibacterial and antibiofilm activity against superbacteria

Abnormal uterine bleeding and insulin resistance are on the rise: Is there a connection?

Eye wear breakthrough: MXene-coated lenses for safer and smarter wearables

‘AI scientist’ suggests combinations of widely available non-cancer drugs can kill cancer cells

Phage therapy at a turning point: Global experts converge in Berlin to shape the future of antimicrobial medicine

[Press-News.org] ASCO: New antibody-drug conjugate shows promising safety and response rates for patients with rare blood cancer