Dr. Jones on the Safety of Venetoclax in CLL

Jeffrey Jones, MD, assistant professor of Internal Medicine, Division of Hematology, The Ohio State University, discusses a concern of venetoclax (Venclexta) in a phase II study that evaluated the efficacy of venetoclax in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

One concern that has arisen as venetoclax has moved into the clinic is its toxicity profile, explains Jones. In earlier studies of venetoclax, there were cases of hyperacute tumor lysis syndrome that required urgent intervention in order to manage it.

In this phase II study, modifications were made, which led to a result of only 2 cases of biochemical tumor lysis reported between both groups of patients.