Targeted therapies that are emerging and being tested in clinical trials hold great promise for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and other non-Hodgkin's lymphomas, notes John C. Byrd, MD. Understanding the true potential long-term use of these emerging targeted therapies is very important, for fully optimizing care, adds Richard Furman, MD.

Many of the novel agents emerging for patients with CLL are opening up a new avenue of treatment for patients who were classified as unfit and unable to receive immunochemotherapy, Shuo Ma, MD, PhD, comments. These agents are transforming indolent lymphoma and CLL into chronic diseases, with the opportunity to utilize induction and maintenance regimens.

Along with the novel targeted agents against BTK and PI3K, there are immunologic approaches under exploration that can be used alone or in combination with some of these newer therapies, Thomas J. Kipps, MD, adds. These approaches include adoptive T cell therapies and agents against immune checkpoint inhibitors. With the combination of these approaches, Kipps is optimistic that CLL could be cured in the near future.