Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

The combination of ibrutinib and rituximab significantly improved overall survival and progression-free survival compared with standard fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab for younger patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The first-line combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva) was associated with a 77% reduction in the risk for disease progression or death compared with chemoimmunotherapy in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma.

Jordan Gauthier, MD, MSc, senior clinical research fellow, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, discusses a study comparing efficacy and toxicity of CD19-specific chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells alone or in combination with ibrutinib in patients with relapsed and/or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) during the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting.

Lisocabtagene maraleucel appeared tolerable and induced an 81.3% best overall response rate and 43.8% complete response rate in heavily pretreated, high-risk patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who previously received ibrutinib.

The combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax is well tolerated and eradicates minimal residual disease in the marrow after 12 months in 39% of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Concurrent treatment with ibrutinib and the CD19-targeted chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy JCAR014 was well tolerated and led to an overall response rate of 83% in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Ibrutinib as monotherapy and combined with rituximab significantly improved progression-free survival compared with bendamustine plus rituximab as frontline therapy for older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Brad Kahl, MD, professor in the Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Siteman Cancer Center, discusses exciting data on the horizon in chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL).

Susan M. O’Brien, MD, hematologist/oncologist at University of California, Irvine Health, discusses the potential for CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Brian T. Hill, MD, PhD, assistant professor, Hematology and Oncology, Cleveland Clinic, discusses the progression of treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The median overall survival for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia has more than tripled since the 1970s, primarily due to an ever-expanding armamentarium of novel agents and earlier diagnosis.

Brad Kahl, MD, professor in the Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Siteman Cancer Center, discusses considerations for treatment strategies in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Shagun Arora, MD, assistant clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses sequencing strategies in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The European Commission has approved venetoclax for use in combination with rituximab for the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia following at least 1 prior therapy.

The combination of venetoclax (Venclexta) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva) reduced the risk of disease progression or death versus obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil in treatment-naïve patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia with comorbidities.