Fixed-Duration Ibrutinib Plus Venetoclax Beneficial for Leukemia

TUESDAY, June 13, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Fixed-duration ibrutinib plus venetoclax is beneficial for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, including those with high risk features, according to a study published online June 7 in Clinical Cancer Research.

John N. Allan, M.D., from Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City, and colleagues reported outcomes of fixed-duration ibrutinib plus venetoclax in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with high-risk genomic features (del[17p], TP53 mutation, and/or unmutated immunoglobulin heavy chain [IGHV]) from the CAPTIVATE study. Participants received three cycles of ibrutinib then 12 cycles of ibrutinib plus venetoclax. Of the 195 patients, 129 (66 percent) had one or more high-risk features.

The researchers found that regardless of high-risk features, the overall response rates were >95 percent. Complete response (CR) rates were 61 and 53 percent, respectively, for patients with and without high-risk features. The best undetectable minimal residual disease rates (uMRD) were 88 and 70 percent (peripheral blood) and 72 and 61 percent (bone marrow) for those with and without high-risk features, respectively; 36-month progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 88 and 92 percent, respectively. For 29 patients with del(17p)/TP53 mutation and 100 with unmutated IGHV without del(17p)/TP53 mutation, CR rates were 52 and 64 percent, respectively; uMRD rates were 83 and 90 percent (peripheral blood) and 45 and 80 percent (bone marrow), respectively; and 36-month PFS rates were 81 and 90 percent, respectively. Regardless of high-risk features, 36-month overall survival rates were >95 percent.

"While further follow-up is required to understand longer term outcomes, these results support fixed-duration ibrutinib plus venetoclax as a treatment approach for this patient population," Allan said in a statement.

Several authors disclosed ties to pharmaceutical companies, including Pharmacyclics and Janssen Biotech, which manufacture ibrutinib, and AbbVie, the manufacturer of venetoclax. The study was funded by Pharmacyclics, an AbbVie company.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)