Dr. Danilov on the Next Steps for Researching Noncovalent BTK Inhibitors in MCL

Alexey V. Danilov, MD, PhD, associate director, Toni Stephenson Lymphoma Center, professor, Division of Lymphoma, Department of Hematology and Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation, City of Hope, discusses the next steps for researching noncovalent BTK inhibitors in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

Although ongoing clinical trials are researching noncovalent BTK inhibitors such as pirtobrutinib (LOXO-305) in MCL, additional data are needed to see how they could fit into the treatment paradigm, Danilov says. Some of the mutations that lead to resistance of pirtobrutinib also confer resistance to traditional covalent BTK inhibitors, Danilov adds. It will be important for investigators to understand if resistance to noncovalent BTK inhibitors will also lead to resistance to covalent BTK inhibitors, Danilov explains.

For noncovalent BTK inhibitors such as pirtobrutinib, the long-term efficacy and safety data are not yet available, compared with covalent BTK inhibitors such as ibrutinib (Imbruvica), Danilov continues. Further research will help identify where pirtobrutinib could fit into the treatment landscape for MCL, Danilov concludes.