Dr. Patel on Differences Between BTK Inhibitors in MCL

Krish Patel, MD, oncologist, Swedish Cancer Institute, discusses differences between BTK inhibitors in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

It is well established that BTK inhibitors play a crucial role in the relapsed/refractory setting of MCL, says Patel. In 2013, the FDA approved ibrutinib (Imbruvica) for patients with MCL who have received at least 1 prior therapy. In 2017, the FDA approved acalabrutinib (Calquence) for patients with MCL who have progressed on at least 1 prior therapy.

Data presented at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting pointed to subtle differences between those agents, especially with regard to safety, says Patel. As it stands, BTK inhibitors are given continuously. Toxicity data and overall rate of therapy continuation are important pieces of information that can help clinicians distinguish between the 2 inhibitors, he adds.

Moving forward, these agents should be studied in randomized clinical trials with equivalent patient populations. That way, if there are differences observed between them, investigators can be confident that they are due to the medication and not the design of the clinical trial or the patient populations included.