Dr. Tam on the Toxicities of Ibrutinib Plus Venetoclax in MCL

Constantine S. Tam, MD, associate professor, Peter MacCullum Cancer Centre, discusses the toxicities of the phase II and phase III studies investigating the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) plus venetoclax (Venclexta) for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

The toxicities were similar to what would be seen with the drugs individually. Ibrutinib had side effects in terms of bruising and bleeding. Venetoclax was associated with reflux symptoms and neutropenia. Importantly, neither of these toxicities were higher when the drugs were given in combination, explains Tam.

There were a number of patients who experienced diarrhea, which could be because this treatment requires 8 tablets a day. However, none of the patients had to stop their treatment due to adverse events, states Tam.