Dr. Wang Discusses the Future of Treatment in MCL

Michael Wang, MD, professor in the Department of Lymphoma and Myeloma at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, discusses emerging treatment strategies in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

At the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, Wang presented updated data with single-agent acalabrutinib (Calquence). The overall response rate with the second-generation BTK inhibitor was 81%, and the complete response rate rose from 40% to 43%. Wang says he has witnessed the field of MCL shift from toxic chemotherapy to the use of targeted therapy.

By the 2019 ASH Annual Meeting, Wang predicts there will be a greater emphasis on precision medicine in this patient population. He says that hematologic oncology is nearing the peak of cellular immunotherapy, and this promising strategy could extend into MCL. Minimal residual disease is also becoming an increasingly important endpoint in clinical trials. Wang concludes that researchers need to prepare for the genomic treatment era.