Dr. Logan Discusses Acalabrutinib in CLL

Aaron Logan, MD, PhD, assistant professor of clinical medicine, University of California, San Francisco Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, discusses acalabrutinib (Calquence) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The development of more selective agents is a general theme that has emerged in novel therapies, says Logan. In many cases, there are off-target toxicities with ibrutinib (Imbruvica), such as atrial fibrillation, and some platelet inhibition, which can lead to bleeding events.

Logan says that a more targeted Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor than ibrutinib may have some advantages. The BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib was shown to have a more favorable side effect profile, but it is not yet clear that it is superior to ibrutinib. The role of acalabrutinib has yet to be established, Logan says, but it may be beneficial for patients who cannot tolerate ibrutinib or have contraindications, such as an arrhythmia.