2 Clarke Drive
Suite 100
Cranbury, NJ 08512
© 2025 MJH Life Sciences™ and OncLive - Clinical Oncology News, Cancer Expert Insights. All rights reserved.
Benjamin Heyman, MD, discusses the evolution of BTK inhibitors in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma.
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
End of dialog window.
This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.
Benjamin Heyman, MD, assistant clinical professor, Medicine, hematologist, Moores Cancer Center, University of California, San Diego Health, discusses the evolution of BTK inhibitors in relapsed/refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).
The introduction of single-agent BTK inhibitors transformed the treatment of patients with relapsed/refractory MCL, Heyman says. Long-term data with single-agent ibrutinib (Imbruvica) demonstrated an overall response rate of approximately 70% and complete response rate of approximately 30%. However, responses appear to be dependent on timing of treatment. For example, patients with 1 prior line of therapy have superior responses compared with those who received 2 or more prior lines of therapy, Heyman explains.
The second-generation covalent BTK inhibitors acalabrutinib (Calquence) and zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) are also FDA approved for use in patients with relapsed/refractory MCL, Heyman says. Without cross-trial comparisons, it is difficult to determine whether these agents demonstrate improved efficacy vs ibrutinib; however, acalabrutinib and zanubrutinib are associated with less hematologic adverse effects and reduced risk of cardiovascular toxicities compared with ibrutinib, Heyman says.
Additionally, noncovalent BTK inhibitors, such as pirtobrutinib (LOXO-305), as well as combination regimens with ibrutinib and venetoclax (Venclexta) or CD20-directed monoclonal antibodies appear to be promising strategies to improve response rates, outcomes, and duration of response, Heyman concludes.
Related Content: