Dr. O'Connor on Recent FDA Approvals in MCL

Owen O'Connor, MD, PhD, professor of medicine and Experimental Therapeutics, director of the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies, Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Medical Center, discusses the recent FDA approval of acalabrutinib (Calquence) for patients with mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

One of the big advances in the field was recognizing that MCL is not one disease. The proliferative rate is an important determinant for many patients.

Bortezomib (Velcade) was the first drug approved for MCL, explains O'Connor. Over the years, the approval of proteasome inhibitors, such as acalabrutinib, broadened the portfolio of available agents. Acalabrutinib is felt to be a more selective BTK inhibitor, explains O'Connor.