Dr. Chanan-Khan on Ibruitinib Combined with BR in CLL/SLL

Asher A. Chanan-Khan, MD, chair, Hematology/Oncology, Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic, discusses a recent study that examined ibrutinib combined with bendamustine and ritxuimab (BR) in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

The randomized, placebo-controlled study enrolled 578 patients with two cohorts. Patients either received six cycles of BR with ibrutinib or placebo. At the time of progression, or at the completion of the sixth cycle, patients were either permitted to continue dosage with ibrutinib or placebo. The primary endpoint of the study was progression-free survival (PFS). Median PFS was 17 months. Patients in the ibrutinib arm, Chanan-Khan adds, have not yet met their PFS.

The significant hazard ratio demonstrates that the risk of death or disease progression is decreased by 80 percent among those patients administered ibrutinib. Chanan-Khan describes this as practice-changing data.

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