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A study published in the British Journal of Haematology examined the impact of COVID-19 on patients with B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma (B-NHL) who received bispecific antibodies. The study included 130 Danish patients who were treated with glofitamab or epcoritamab. Of the 43 patients who were infected with COVID-19, the majority were in complete remission at the time of diagnosis. The severity of COVID-19 symptoms varied, with 2 patients experiencing critical symptoms, 2 experiencing severe symptoms, and 30 experiencing non-severe symptoms. Hospitalization was required for 16 patients, and the most common treatments prescribed were sotrovimab and remdesivir. Overall, the study found low mortality rates from COVID-19 infection in patients with B-NHL after bispecific CD20xCD3 therapy. The study also compared the mortality rates of patients who received bispecific antibodies to those treated with CAR-T-cell therapy, finding that bispecific antibody patients had a lower mortality rate. The study concludes that bispecific CD20xCD3 antibodies can be safely prescribed to lymphoma patients who have been vaccinated for COVID-19 with currently circulating virus variants. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Several clinical prognostic models for diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) have been proposed, including the most commonly used International Prognostic Index (IPI), the National Comprehensive Cancer Network IPI (NCCN‐IPI), and models incorporating beta‐2 microglobulin (β2M). However, the role of β2M in DLBCL patients is not fully understood. Methods: We identified 6075 patients with newly diagnosed DLBCL treated with immunochemotherapy registered in the Danish Lymphoma Registry. Results: A total of 3232 patients had data available to calculate risk scores from each of the nine considered risk models for DLBCL, including a model developed from our population. Three of four models with β2M and NCCN‐IPI performed better than the International Prognostic Indexes (IPI, age‐adjusted IPI, and revised IPI). Five‐year overall survival for high‐ and low‐risk patients were 43.6% and 86.4% for IPI and 34.9% and 96.2% for NCCN‐IPI. In univariate analysis, higher levels of β2M were associated with inferior survival, higher tumor burden (advanced clinical stage and bulky disease), previous malignancy and increased age, and creatinine levels. Furthermore, we developed a model (β2M‐NCCN‐IPI) by adding β2M to NCCN‐IPI (c‐index 0.708) with improved discriminatory ability compared to NCCN‐IPI (c‐index 0.698, p < 0.05) and 5‐year OS of 33.1%, 56.2%, 82.4%, and 96.4% in the high, high‐intermediate, low‐intermediate and low‐risk group, respectively. Conclusion: International Prognostic Indices, except for NCCN‐IPI, fail to accurately discriminate risk groups in the rituximab era. β2M, a readily available marker, could improve the discriminatory performance of NCCN‐IPI and should be re‐evaluated in the development setting of future models for DLBCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring is a major component of asthma management in children. Regular monitoring allows for diagnosis confirmation, treatment optimization, and natural history review. Numerous factors that may affect disease activity and patient well‐being need to be monitored: response and adherence to treatment, disease control, disease progression, comorbidities, quality of life, medication side‐effects, allergen and irritant exposures, diet and more. However, the prioritization of such factors and the selection of relevant assessment tools is an unmet need. Furthermore, rapidly developing technologies promise new opportunities for closer, or even "real‐time," monitoring between visits. Following an approach that included needs assessment, evidence appraisal, and Delphi consensus, the PeARL Think Tank, in collaboration with major international professional and patient organizations, has developed a set of 24 recommendations on pediatric asthma monitoring, to support healthcare professionals in decision‐making and care pathway design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Outcome data of patients with relapsed/refractory (R/R) diffuse large B‐cell lymphoma (DLBCL) beyond the second line are scarce outside of clinical trials. Novel therapies in the R/R setting have been approved based on single‐arm trials, but results need to be contextualized by real‐world outcomes. Medical records from 3753 Danish adults diagnosed with DLBCL were reviewed. Patients previously treated with rituximab and anthracycline‐based chemotherapy who received the third or later line (3 L+) of treatment after 1 January 2015, were included. Only 189 patients with a median age of 71 years were eligible. The median time since the last line of therapy was 6 months. Patients were treated with either best supportive care (22%), platinum‐based salvage therapy (13%), low‐intensity chemotherapy (22%), in clinical trial (14%) or various combination treatments (32%). The 2‐year OS‐/PFS estimates were 25% and 12% for all patients and 49% and 17% for those treated with platinum‐based salvage therapy. Age ≥70, CNS involvement, elevated LDH and ECOG ≥2 predicted poor outcomes, and patients with 0–1 of these risk factors had a 2‐year OS estimate of 65%. Only a very small fraction of DLBCL patients received third‐line treatment and were eligible for inclusion. Outcomes were generally poor, but better in intensively treated, fit young patients with limited disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]