Mark Litzow, M.D. (HEMO ’89), presents research, Mayo Clinic Rochester

Mark Litzow, M.D. (HEMO ’89), Division of Hematology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, presented late-breaking research at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting and Exposition. The results of his abstract, Consolidation Therapy with Blinatumomab Improves Overall Survival in Newly Diagnosed Adult Patients with B-Lineage Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in Measurable Residual Disease Negative Remission: Results from the ECOG-ACRIN E1910 Randomized Phase III National Cooperative Clinical Trials Network Trial, reveals a major treatment advance for adults with newly diagnosed B lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The randomized phase 3 study E1910 evaluated blinatumomab immunotherapy in patients with a good prognosis after an initial round of chemotherapy. After about 3.5 years of follow-up, 83% of the patients who went on to receive additional standard consolidation chemotherapy plus experimental blinatumomab were alive versus 65% of those who received chemotherapy only. Dr. Litzow is a professor of medicine in the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science.