Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, medical director of the Leukemia Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses factors that physicians should take into account when administering frontline treatment options to patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

As with software upgrades, Carl H. June, MD, sees his work in cancer research as a job with ever-evolving updates.

Standard treatment approaches for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia will continue to include fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab and allogeneic stem cell transplantation.

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of ofatumumab in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide as a treatment for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD, Director, CLL Center, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, associate professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, discusses the recent progress seen in the treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and what still needs to be accomplished going forward.

Alessandra Ferrajoli, MD, a professor of Medicine in the Department of Leukemia at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the challenges that still remain in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, medical director of the Leukemia Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the management of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the firstline setting.

As more agents are approved in the treatment paradigm of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, researchers are exploring frontline options—in addition to ibrutinib and the regimen of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab—in ongoing trials.

Jose Leis, MD, associate professor of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses treatment-related advances in the field of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) over the last several decades in an interview during the 2016 OncLive State of the Science Summit on Hematologic Malignancies.

Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia have an increased likelihood of developing secondary cancers and other diseases, often based on their age and gender.

Jan A. Burger, MD, PhD, associate professor, department of leukemia, division of cancer medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses the role of minimal residual disease (MRD)-negativity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use has recommended approval of venetoclax for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia who have a 17p deletion (del[17p]) or TP53 mutation and are not good candidates for or have failed on a B-cell receptor pathway inhibitor. The potential indication would also be for patients who do not harbor the deletion or mutation but have progressed on both a BCR inhibitor and chemoimmunotherapy.

William G. Wierda, MD, PhD, medical director of the Leukemia Center at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discuses which chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients may benefit from ibrutinib frontline therapy and questions that remain after the RESONATE-2 trial.

There has been some debate over what should be the standard frontline treatment for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia: ibrutinib or chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab.

​Steven Coutre, MD, professor of medicine (hematology) at Stanford University Medical Center, discusses considerations when selecting between oral therapies like ibrutinib and chemoimmunotherapy for first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Constantine S. Tam, MD, Consultant Hematologist, Division of Hematology and Oncology, Peter MacCallum Cancer Center, Melbourne, Australia discusses BCL2 inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Recent success with novel agents for chronic lymphocytic leukemia has spurred development of more agents in the same therapeutic classes; however, definitive advantages over the originals have yet to be established.

Combining the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) with the anti-CD20 agent rituximab (Rituxan) led to objective responses in 86% of patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Jennifer Brown, MD, PhD, director, Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Center, senior physician, associate professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, discusses the lessons oncologists have learned from the RESONATE-2 trial, which showed a benefit with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) over chlorambucil in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Bruce Cheson, MD, discusses how frontline treatment for chronic lymphocytic leukemia has evolved well beyond a "one-size-fits-all" approach, with patient and disease characteristics and physician/patient discussions determining the optimal therapeutic approach.

The FDA has approved ofatumumab in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide as a treatment for patients with relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Jennifer Woyach, MD, discussed using the FDA-approved agents ibrutinib (Imbruvica), idelalisib (Zydelig), and venetoclax (Venclexta) in a hypothetical patient scenario, and highlighted emerging targets and treatments in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Anthony Mato, MD, director of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Program, University of Pennsylvania, discusses how oncologists can manage adverse events associated with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and idelalisib (Zydelig) for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Neil E. Kay, MD, professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic, discusses the genetic investigations being conducted in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and more specifically, monoclonal b-cell lymphocytosis, which resembles CLL but does not meet the same criteria.

Jeffrey Jones, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, discusses the long-term outcomes associated with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).