Dr. Byrd Provides an Update on Ibrutinib in CLL

John C. Byrd, MD, director of the division of hematology and a CLL specialist at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC — James), provides an update on ibrutinib for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

New data will greatly affect oncologists’ practices, Byrd says, even though no new studies were presented at the 2013 American Society of Hematology (ASH) Meeting.

Data from one extension study demonstrated long-term safety and durability with ibrutinib monotherapy in patients with CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma. Byrd says that patients consistently held their remission and tolerated ibrutinib well. In the study, a decrease in the number of patients experiencing adverse events of grade 3 or higher after a year of ibrutinib resulted in low rates of treatment-related discontinuation.