Dr. Ghosh on Unanswered Questions With BTK Inhibitors in CLL/SLL

Nilanjan Ghosh, MD, PhD, director of the Lymphoma Program and a physician with Levine Cancer Institute, discusses remaining questions with BTK inhibitors in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

The BTK inhibitors ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and acalabrutinib (Calquence) are approved as continuous therapy for patients with CLL/SLL, explains Ghosh.

The introduction of these agents to the paradigm played a large role in phasing out chemoimmunotherapy, Ghosh explains. BTK inhibitors became established standards of care after demonstrating improved outcomes versus chemoimmunotherapy in head-to-head trials.

However, the potential role of BTK inhibitors in combination with venetoclax (Venclexta) remains largely unknown in CLL/SLL, Ghosh says.

As such, a head-to-head trial is needed to determine whether giving a fixed duration of a BTK inhibitor in combination with venetoclax is superior to sequencing the agents in an indefinite treatment approach, concludes Ghosh.