Dr. Alkharabsheh on Remaining Challenges in High-Risk CLL

Omar Alkharabsheh, MD, a medical oncologist and hematologist, and an assistant professor of Interdisciplinary Clinical Oncology at the USA College of Medicine, discusses remaining challenges in high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Patients with CLL and high-risk cytogenetics, such as 17p deletion or complex karyotype, or who are resistant to BTK inhibitors represent a significant unmet need in CLL, says Alkharabsheh. Moreover, these patients have poorer outcomes vs the general CLL population, Alkharabsheh adds.

Currently, allogeneic stem cell transplant is the standard of care for this patient population; however, only fit patients with donors are eligible to undergo transplant, Alkharabsheh. As such, novel therapies, such as CAR T-cell therapy, could provide an effective therapy that could induce remissions in patients with high-risk CLL, concludes Alkharabsheh.