OVERVIEW OF ACTIVITY
Each year, thousands of clinicians, basic scientists and other industry professionals sojourn to major international oncology conferences, like the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and European Hematology Association (EHA) annual meetings and the International Conference on Malignant Lymphoma (ICML), to hone their skills, network with colleagues and learn about recent advances altering state-of-the-art management in hematologic oncology. As such, these events have become global stages where exciting science, cutting-edge concepts and practice-changing data emerge on a truly grand scale. This massive outpouring of information has enormous benefits for the hematologic oncology community, but the truth is it also creates a major challenge for practicing oncologists and hematologists.

Although original data are consistently being presented and published, the flood of information unveiled during a major academic conference is unprecedented and leaves in its wake an enormous volume of new knowledge that practicing oncologists must try to sift through, evaluate and consider applying. Unfortunately and quite commonly, time constraints and an inability to access these data sets leave many oncologists struggling to ensure that they are aware of crucial practice-altering findings. This creates an almost insurmountable obstacle for clinicians in community practice because not only are they confronted almost overnight with thousands of new presentations and data sets, but they are also severely restricted in their ability to review and interrogate the raw findings.

To bridge the gap between research and patient care, this CME activity will deliver a serial review of the most important emerging data sets on treatment approaches and novel agents in non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) from the latest ASCO, EHA and ICML meetings, including expert perspectives on how these new evidence-based concepts may be applied to routine clinical care. This activity will assist medical oncologists, hematologists and hematology-oncology fellows in the formulation of optimal clinical management strategies and the timely application of new research findings to best-practice patient care.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

• Appraise recent clinical research findings on the efficacy and safety of radioimmunotherapy with ⁹⁰Y-ibritumomab tiuxetan for elderly patients with CD20-positive B-cell NHL.
• Compare and contrast the differences in patterns of care and treatment outcomes in older versus younger patients with follicular lymphoma based on data from the US National LymphoCare Study database.
• Evaluate the benefits and risks of novel therapeutic approaches with lenalidomide as a single agent in relapsed or refractory mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) after bortezomib treatment or in combination with rituximab (R² regimen) for patients with previously untreated follicular lymphoma.
• Assess the effectiveness and tolerability of up-front combination therapy with bendamustine and rituximab versus standard rituximab-based chemotherapy in advanced indolent NHL compared to in MCL.
• Consider the clinical impact of rituximab maintenance versus observation after induction chemotherapy on the risk of relapse for patients with aggressive B-cell lymphoma.
• Recall the utility of post-therapy surveillance imaging approaches for earlier detection of relapses in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.

ACCREDITATION STATEMENT
Research To Practice is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education to provide continuing medical education for physicians.

CME credit is no longer available for this issue

CREDIT DESIGNATION STATEMENT

CME credit is no longer available for this issue

HOW TO USE THIS CME ACTIVITY
This CME activity contains slides and edited commentary. The participant should review the slide presentations and read the commentary.

CME credit is no longer available for this issue

CONTENT VALIDATION AND DISCLOSURES
Research To Practice (RTP) is committed to providing its participants with high-quality, unbiased and state-of-the-art education. We assess potential conflicts of interest with faculty, planners and managers of CME activities. Real or apparent conflicts of interest are identified and resolved through a conflict of interest resolution process. In addition, all activity content is reviewed by both a member of the RTP scientific staff and an external, independent physician reviewer for fair balance, scientific objectivity of studies referenced and patient care recommendations.

FACULTY — The following faculty (and their spouses/partners) reported real or apparent conflicts of interest, which have been resolved through a conflict of interest resolution process:

Andrew M Evens, DO, MSc
Professor of Medicine
Chief, Division of Hematology/Oncology
Tufts University School of Medicine
Director, Lymphoma Program
Leader, Clinical Sciences Program
Tufts Cancer Center
Boston, Massachusetts

Advisory Committee: Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Seattle Genetics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc; Contracted Research: Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, ZIOPHARM Oncology Inc.

Ian W Flinn, MD, PhD
Director of Blood Cancer Research
Sarah Cannon Research Institute
Tennessee Oncology
Nashville, Tennessee

Consulting Research: AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Celgene Corporation, Cephalon Inc, Genentech BioOncology, Gilead Sciences Inc, GlaxoSmithKline, Infinity Pharmaceuticals Inc, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Roche Laboratories Inc.

Christopher Flowers, MD, MS
Associate Professor of Hematology and Medical Oncology
Emory School of Medicine Winship Cancer Institute
Atlanta, Georgia

Consulting Research: Celgene Corporation, Genentech BioOncology; Contracted Research: Abbott Laboratories, Janssen Pharmaceuticals Inc, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Sanofi, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Jonathan W Friedberg, MD, MMSc
Samuel Durand Professor of Medicine
Director, Wilmot Cancer Center
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York

Advisory Committee: Genentech BioOncology; Data and Safety Monitoring Board: Lilly.

EDITOR — Dr Love is president and CEO of Research To Practice, which receives funds in the form of educational grants to develop CME activities from the following commercial interests: AbbVie Inc, Algeta US, Allos Therapeutics, Amgen Inc, ArQule Inc, Astellas, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP, Aveo Pharmaceuticals, Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Biodesix Inc, Biogen Idec, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, Celgene Corporation, Daiichi Sankyo Inc, Dendreon Corporation, Eisai Inc, EMD Serono Inc, Exelixis Inc, Foundation Medicine Inc, Genentech BioOncology, Genomic Health Inc, Gilead Sciences Inc, Incyte Corporation, Lilly, Medivation Inc, Merck, Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company, Mundipharma International Limited, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novocure, Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc, Prometheus Laboratories Inc, Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Sanofi, Seattle Genetics, Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc and Teva Oncology.

RESEARCH TO PRACTICE STAFF AND EXTERNAL REVIEWERS — The scientific staff and reviewers for Research To Practice have no real or apparent conflicts of interest to disclose.

This educational activity contains discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the Food and Drug Administration. Research To Practice does not recommend the use of any agent outside of the labeled indications. Please refer to the official prescribing information for each product for discussion of approved indications, contraindications and warnings. The opinions expressed are those of the presenters and are not to be construed as those of the publisher or grantors.

This activity is supported by educational grants from Genentech BioOncology/Biogen Idec, Onyx Pharmaceuticals Inc and Spectrum Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Hardware/Software Requirements:
A high-speed Internet connection
A monitor set to 1280 x 1024 pixels or more
Internet Explorer 7 or later, Firefox 3.0 or later, Chrome, Safari 3.0 or later
Adobe Flash Player 10.2 plug-in or later
Adobe Acrobat Reader
(Optional) Sound card and speakers for audio

Last review date: November 2013
Expiration date: November 2014