Medical oncologist/scientist. Former Chief of Lymphoma at MSKCC. Working on changing treatment outcome for patients with blood cancers. Now SVP at AstraZeneca.
In Clinic: Nothing is more gratifying than helping patients achieve a remission and go back to their normal lives (PET scan image of an 81 year man with diffuse large B cell lymphoma before (left) and after 2 cycles of therapy)
Thrilled to announce that Dr Nina Shah (
@ninashah33
) will be joining our hematology R&D team as the Global Head of Multiple Myeloma Clinical Development and Strategy.
Nina is an international expert in multiple myeloma clinical care and clinical investi…
Good to be back in the office after a long lockdown..or to be more accurate, good to be in the new office for the first time...Looking forward to working with colleagues across the globe to develop better treatments to improve the cure for patients with blood cancers
Thrilled to announce that Dr. Jude Fitzgibbon will be joining our hematology R&D team as the Vice President, Head of Discovery and Target Biology.
Welcome to the Heme R&D team, Jude!
Highlight of my day: had a coffee with a previous patient of mine. In remission for 8 years after experimental therapy. Now married with 2 beautiful kids.
#ASC018
Just finished clinic. Telemedicine is good for certain patients with routine follow up visits, but not ideal for evaluating new symptoms, or for communicating new findings or disease progression on imaging studies.
Another drug developer and a thought leader rock star joins our hematology R&D team. We are on a mission to change treatment outcome for patients with blood cancers. Welcome to the team Simon
@rule_simon
Sad to hear about the passing of prof Ton Hagenbeek of the Academic Medical Center, Univ of Amsterdam. Ton was a world class expert on lymphoma and made many contributions to advance the field. His well balanced views were respected by colleagues from around the world. RIP
Pleased to share that AstraZeneca announced the proposed acquisition of Gracell Biotechnologies, a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR-T) therapies using their rapid manufacturing technology.
The acquisition is an opportunity
Had a wonderful evening with friends and colleagues at the
@lymphoma
Research Foundation annual gala. Thanks to the LRF for honoring me tonight, and for their amazing work supporting lymphoma research
In clinic: a patient with extensive Hodgkin lymphoma, stage 4 with multiple bulky nodes, and bone involvement (Left image). In CR after standard chemotherapy (right image). Hodgkin lymphoma remains among the most curable lymphomas, even though it is extensive disease!
Very encouraging early results with ALLO-501 "off the shelf" CAR T. A bit complicated process with knocking out 2 genes and introducing a CD19 and CD20 binding proteins. No GVHD, 50% infection. 50% CR rate in 8 adequately treated pts. To be watched as more pts are treated
Very sad to hear about the passing of a good friend and colleague Prof Bertrand Coiffier. A huge loss to the lymphoma field. His contributions go beyond RCHOP, and his work touched the lives of too many patients from around the world. He will be tremendously missed. RIP!
Ran into a past patient in a coffee shop, and was very happy to see how well she is, living healthy and normal life. The smile on her face when she saw me made my day!
#GoodFriday
Lots of admiration and respect for patients who participate in early clinical trials. Her story inspired and energized the CAR T cell therapy field, and now we have 2 of them approved by the FDA, and more to come
Emily Whitehead, the first child to receive CAR-T treatment for leukemia, is named one of the "10 people who mattered this year" by
@nature
, the top journal of multidisciplinary science, marking FDA approval of the treatment, supported by
#SU2C
research.
In Clinic: A patient with transformed follicular lymphoma, still in complete remission 4 years later. Despite the extensive disease, treatment can be very effective
Reading through the many
#ASH22
AML abstracts: despite the excellent scientific advances reported in recent years, this has not translated into new transformative medicines, and the OS remains poor. AML remains a major area with unmet medical needs. More innovation is needed!
Raining all weekend, which is perfect to stay home and catch up on
#ASH22
abstracts. I still like to print them out and read!
Which abstracts are exciting to you this year?
I am delighted to share that LRF will be honoring me at this year's Gala with the Distinguished Leadership Award. I would like to invite you to participate by supporting the Lymphoma Research Foundation
@LymphomaResearch
using this link.
I am delighted to announce that Dr. Daniel (“Dan”) Auclair
@AuclairDan
has been appointed Executive Director, Head of Translational Medicine joining our Haematology R&D group on Monday, February 7, 2022.
In his new role, Dan will provide leadership in…
Glad to see that our paper ranked In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by Altmetric within a few days of its publication. Clearly there is a high interest in developing new frontline regimens for patients with DLBCL
Less is better in DLBCL: Two studies showed 4 is as good as 6 cycles of RCHOP in early stage non bulky good risk patients, and 6 is as good as 8 cycles of RCHOP in advanced stage DLBCL
#ASH18
Reviewing abstracts from
#ASH21
.. Many excellent studies focusing on CART, and T cell engages, which will continue to change the standard of care in blood cancers… The next wave of innovation in blood cancers will be more novel ADCs, epigenetics modifiers, and degraders
also Berlin philharmonic
@BerlinPhil
is offering free streaming of their entire digital library for a month. An incredible treat while you shelter in. Here is the link
#StayHomeSaveLives
It is the first study in newly diagnosed DLBCL to show a survival benefit over standard RCHOp, but the benefit is limited to those younger than 65 years of age. Older patients had increased toxicity, dose reductions/interruption that impacted the efficacy.
#ASH18
Younes et al - marked difference in EFS and OS of RCHOP + ibrutinib vs RCHOP + placebo in front line DLBCL - Phoenix study. Over 65s had unexpected toxicity signal. Emphasises caution needed introducing new drugs in combo.
#ASH2018
#lymsm
Randomized Phase III Trial of Ibrutinib and Rituximab Plus Cyclophosphamide, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, and Prednisone in Non–Germinal Center B-Cell Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma | Journal of Clinical Oncology
Just finished a tour of our new
@sloan_kettering
outpatient clinical building which will open in November. Amazing state of the art, patient-friendly facility. Clinic visits, diagnostic imaging, biopsies, and treatment area, all under one roof
After 2 months of lockdown, a historic lunch with my wife in an outdoor cafe in NYC. Social distancing is enforced, and people wear their masks between bites...I think this is going to be the future of dining out, which is better than the alternatives.
#IAmHappy
#PerfectWeather
Love to give good news to patients, especially around the holidays... Lymphoma is a responsive disease to therapy even when it is bulky and spread out. The difference between these two PET scans is only 2 cycles of therapy.
In clinic: happy to see 2 of my young patients being pregnant after they were treated for Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphoma and are cured of their disease. Patients can and should live a normal life after cancer
If you are getting dizzy reading all
#ASH23
abstracts on T cell engagers across all major indications (lymphoma, Mm,,AML), with different schedules (weekly, Q2wks, Q3wks, Q4wks), route of administration(IV, SQ, or both), different length of therapy (1 year, 2 years, or until
in Clinic: A patient with multiple enlarged lymph nodes, SUV max 22 and 29. Biopsy from 2 different nodes showed FL grade 1-2. Would you treat with BR or RCHOP (right fig after treatment)
Really great catching up with
@rosslevinemd
after his inspiring keynote lecture to our oncology R&D group. Clonal hematopoiesis science is opening new possibilities to intercept cancer early on to make an impact on patients’ lives
You can download a powerpoint slide of the single agent activity landscape in the most common B cell lymphomas => New drugs for new targets in lymphoma - Younes - 2019 - Hematological Oncology -
Stopped in my office before clinic. Have not been there in 2 weeks..clinic will be mostly telemedicine and phone calls..I already miss the human interaction with patients. Nothing compares to putting your hand on a patient’s shoulder and say “don’t worry”
#COVID19
More
#ASH23
abstracts to be read, and more coffee to be sipped. I still like to print out abstracts that I am interested in reading. I think I am one of a few who misses having the old abstract book!
66 YOM with generalized adenopathy with high SUV (max 22). Biopsies from 2 different lymph nodes with high SUV showed Follicular Lymphoma grade 1-2. I chose to treat with RCHOP suspecting transformation, instead of BR. Images before and after are shown.
Wrote chapters in the latest editions of both textbooks (and got my free copies!)…I still see value for having standard text books as they contain solid core information, even though they can’t stay completely up to date..
CAR T cells, Antibody drug conjugates, Lenalidomide/Rituxan, and Anti CD47/Rituxan are the highlights of
#ASCO18
fo lymphoma. Good news for immune therapy and for patients. But we should not get distracted and continue our efforts to identify new targets through basic science
Coffee with our special visiting Spanish lymphoma expert Dr Sabella Bobillo. Going back home to Barcelona after spending a year with us at
@sloan_kettering
In Clinic: A patient with diffuse large B cell lymphoma, one year after treatment with immunochemotherapy. We can cure approximately 60% to 65% of all patients, but there is room for improvement. Working on developing better therapy
Morning hospital rounds at the lymphoma center of the 1st Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, the largest hospital in China with 10,000 beds. Lymphoma census today was 170. Amazing clinical staff who work tirelessly to take care of a large number of patients
Back on hospital service = slow response to emails (and = more coffee). Every patient has a story, and I love listening to them, one story at a time! We treat patients, not just the disease!
Locked-in at home, running and participating in meetings by phone and webex... Had my first virtual lab meeting today..Who would have thought I would be running a lab meeting in my pajamas...This used to happen only in my nightmares.
#COVID19
#WFH
On Hospital Rounds-discussing experimental therapy:
Patient: I do not want to be a guinea pig
Me: You are not. The goal of experimental therapy is not to experiment on you, but to try to help you through new promising treatments.
Need to improve public trust in clinical trials
In Clinic: working with the most wonderful and dedicated clinical staff in the world to take care of our patients during this unusual time. Most visits are done by telemedicine to reduce risks. Life saving therapy continues..
#StayHomeAndStaySafe
It has been a year since I joined AstraZeneca to build and lead the new Hematology R&D team. And this past year was like no other!.
Making a major career change and building a new team in the middle of a global pandemic was not without risks. We had t…
Proud of our Clinical Development team, managing 30 clinical trials in hematology, and looking forward to do more. They all have the same passion, to bring new and impactful medicines to patients with all types of blood cancers
Dear
@CastleConnolly
: Thank you for the honor and for the recognition as a top doctor in Houston for 2019, even though I have moved to New York to work at
@sloan_kettering
5 years ago
A quick review of
#ASH20
presentations shows how T cell engagers and CAR T cell therapy are quickly changing the treatment landscape of blood cancers. More scientific discoveries are quickly translated into innovative therapies. Will chemotherapy become obsolete? I wonder& I hope
Good luck to all
@sloan_kettering
Heme/Onc graduating fellows. Zoom may not be the ideal way to celebrate, but it was great to see the future leaders in their home settings with their loved ones. An added bonus of fellowship training is many new life-long friendships
Was watching thanksgiving parade with my wife in a small town outside New York, when out of no where an old patient of mine popped out to say hello, and introduced his wife and kids to us
#MadeMyDay
We are rapidly building a world-class hematology R&D team. Our goal is very clear, we want to improve the cure rate for patients with blood cancers
#WorldCancerDay
Great hosting my good friend and former
@MSKCancerCenter
colleague
@AbdelWahablab
with our GPL Gülu Gorgun. Scientific exchange of ideas and collaborations between academia and industry are critical to accelerate drug development for patients with cancer.