Dr. Goy on Efficacy With Ibrutinib in MCL

Andre Goy, MD, MS, chairman and director, chief of Lymphoma, and director of Clinical and Translational Cancer Research at John Theurer Cancer Center, discusses the efficacy reported with ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The third drug that is FDA approved for MCL is ibrutinib, which is available for relapsed/refractory patients. In the clinical trial that led to the approval, Goy said that the response rate was 68%, the CR rate was 21%, and the median duration of response was approximately 17 months. This offers a combinatorial option with rituximab (Rituxan), Goy explains.

Second-generation BTK inhibitors, proteasome inhibitors, and immunomodulatory agents are therapies the MCL community can expect down the road, he says. Obinutuzumab (Gazyva) will also likely be integrated as part of MCL management. However, BCL-2 inhibitors such as venetoclax (Venclexta) have shwon very impressive activity in relapsed MCL.