Dr. Davids on the Potential Utility of Ibrutinib/Umbralisib in MCL and CLL

Matthew S. Davids, MD, MMSc, an associate director with the Center for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia; director of clinical research, Lymphoma Program; and medical oncologist, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, discusses the potential utility of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in combination with umbralisib (TGR-1202) in patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) or relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

According to a recent press release, the combination of umbralisib and ublituximab demonstrated encouraging results in the phase 3 UNITY-CLL study, says Davids. Umbralisib appears to be moving towards regulatory approval in CLL and ​possibly MCL.

Although the regimen may have future utility as an off-label option, additional data is needed from larger, randomized studies, Davids explains.

Notably, ​the phase 1/1b study (NCT02268851) of umbralisib/ibrutinib was the first to show the feasibility of a BTK inhibitor in combination with a PI3K inhibitor in CLL and MCL. This approach may be beneficial in other non-Hodgkin lymphomas in the future, Davids concludes.