Treatment with the oral BTK inhibitor ibrutinib in combination with venetoclax led to a statistically significant improvement in progression-free survival vs ibrutinib plus placebo in patients with relapsed/refractory MCL.
Ibrutinib plus venetoclax, given at a duration determined by minimal residual disease, improved progression-free survival and overall survival vs fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab in patients with treatment-naive chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
John N. Allan, MD, discusses current data detailing the activity of venetoclax-based, fixed-duration regimens in the frontline setting for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia; the synergy and promising efficacy signals seen with BCL-2 and BTK inhibitor combinations; and ongoing research efforts exploring triplet regimens vs other continuous approaches in this space.
Given the likelihood of MDS to progress to acute myeloid leukemia (AML), the authors state, “There are certain settings where ‘AML-like’ therapies are appropriate in MDS, particularly given our evolving understanding of the overlapping biology of these malignancies.”
Jennifer A. Woyach, MD, elucidates the updated results generated from a phase 2 study of venetoclax monotherapy in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) whose disease progressed on a prior B-cell receptor inhibitor, expanded on key findings from a genomic analysis from the study, and highlighted what these findings could mean for the CLL treatment paradigm.