Dr. Kumar on Treatment Considerations with BTK Inhibitors in MCL

Anita Kumar, MD, medical oncologist, Regional Care Network Medical Site Director, MSK Basking Ridge, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses considerations for the use of second-line BTK inhibitors in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) who progress on BTK inhibitors.

BTK inhibitors are standard second-line treatment for patients with relapsed/refractory MCL who progress after initial chemoimmunotherapy, Kumar says. There are 3 FDA-approved BTK inhibitors including ibrutinib (Imbruvica), acalabrutinib (Calquence), and zanubrutinib (Brukinsa), and some clinicians may favor the use of acalabrutinib or zanubrutinib due to the toxicity profiles of the 3 agents, Kumar adds.

Since patients with MCL are typically older and have multiple comorbidities, using acalabrutinib or zanubrutinib could reduce the risk of cardiovascular adverse effects, Kumar concludes.