Dr. Taylor on Ongoing Phase II Trial of Frontline Vemurafenib Combo in Hairy Cell Leukemia

Justin Taylor, MD, attending physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discusses the design of an ongoing phase II clinical trial evaluating the combination of frontline vemurafenib (Zelboraf) plus obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in patients with hairy cell leukemia, in an interview during the 2019 Hairy Cell Leukemia Foundation Annual Conference.

The phase II trial had a 2-fold design. Nine patients were treated in the first stage with the vemurafenib combination. Taylor explains they would cut off treatment and end the trial if the responses were not as high as researchers expected, but that didn’t happen. More patients are being enrolled currently to fulfill the second stage of the trial, which has expanded to include 24 patients.

Vemurafenib is administered for a limited duration. Patients received the oral pill twice daily for 4 cycles, which is approximately 4 months of treatment. Obinutuzumab is given as an injection starting in the second cycle. Patients receive obinutuzumab once monthly.

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