Dr. Logan Discusses Ibrutinib Plus Venetoclax in CLL

Aaron Logan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of clinical medicine, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses the combination of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and venetoclax (Venclexta) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Results from the TAP CLARITY study showed that the ibrutinib plus venetoclax elicited a complete response (CR) or CR with incomplete hematologic recovery (CRi) rate of 47% for patients with relapsed/refractory CLL. Patients in the relapsed/refractory cohort achieved minimal residual disease (MRD) negativity after 1 year of combination targeted therapy.

Although the numbers are small, it looks like there are good responses, with all patients eventually developing MRD negativity with the combination of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition and BCL-2 inhibition. Logan says that he is not sure this combination will achieve immediate approval because it is not yet clear if the FDA is ready to use MRD as an endpoint for clinical trials.