Dr. Flynn Discusses Ibrutinib for Hematologic Malignancies

Joseph M. Flynn, DO, MPH, co-director, Division of Hematology; co-director, LIVESTRONG Survivorship Center of Excellence; medical director, James Survivorship Clinics, The Ohio State University, James Cancer Hospital, discusses the impact ibrutinib has had on treating hematologic malignancies.

Flynn says the approval of ibrutinib is one of the most exciting discoveries in the last two decades. In CLL, this drug has changed the way that patients can be treated following relapse. This agent is well tolerated in most patients but physicians typically avoid giving this agent to patients taking blood thinners, Flynn says.

Some mutations that may be associated with resistance to ibrutinib have been identified. Hopefully, Flynn says, this will allow physicians with a better sense of who to target.