Dr. Kahl on Promising Research in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia

Brad Kahl, MD, professor in the Department of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Siteman Cancer Center, discusses exciting data on the horizon in chronic lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL).

In May 2018, AbbVie published a press release stating that the phase III iLLUMINATE trial met its primary endpoint of improvement in progression-free survival with the frontline treatment of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva) versus chlorambucil and obinutuzumab. Those data are likely to be presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, says Kahl. That combination may receive a frontline indication soon, he adds. Whether or not it will supersede single-agent ibrutinib as a frontline therapy remains to be seen, he adds.

Moreover, data from the CAPTIVATE trial, which combined ibrutinib and venetoclax (Venclexta) in patients younger than 70 years old, was presented at the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting. Patients were administered ibrutinib for 3 months, at which point they began venetoclax. The complete remission rate in 11 of 12 patients with available bone marrow data was 36%. After 6 cycles of the combination, 77% of patients tested negative for minimal residual disease.