Dr. Seymour on Promising Combinations in CLL

Erlene Seymour, MD, assistant professor of medicine, Karmanos Cancer Institute, Wayne State University, discusses promising combination therapies in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

Some of the more promising data that came from the 2017 ASH Annual Meeting and the 2018 ASCO Annual Meeting, centered around combinations with venetoclax (Venclexta), says Seymour. For example, in a phase I trial, investigators looked at the combination of obinutuzumab (Gazyva), venetoclax, and ibrutinib (Imbruvica) in a time-limited treatment course of 14 months in patients with treatment-naïve and relapsed/refractory CLL. That course is shorter than some other courses that are out there, notes Seymour. Since then, results of the phase II trial were reported at the 2018 ASH Annual Meeting, and showed a high mid-therapy response rate of 92% in patients with relapsed/refractory disease and early minimal residual disease negativity.

Moving forward, there will be more combinations with venetoclax, and likely, combinations with obinutuzumab. The benefit of combinations with venetoclax is that physicians are seeing less tumor lysis syndrome, concludes Seymour.