In a nutshell
This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of acalabrutinib (Calquence) alone and in combination with obinutuzumab (Gazyva) to standard treatments for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
This study concluded that acalabrutinib showed high effectiveness and favorable outcomes in these patients when compared to standard treatment.
Some background
Standard treatments for CLL include a combination of chemotherapy such as bendamustine (Treanda) or chlorambucil (Leukeran) with immunotherapies such as rituximab (Rituxan) or obinutuzumab. Targeted therapies such as ibrutinib (Imbruvica) have recently shown better effectiveness compared to standard combination in these patients.
Acalabrutinib is a targeted therapy called tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) normally used to treat a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It has shown to be effective also in patients with CLL. However, the effectiveness of acalabrutinib alone or in combination with obinutuzumab in patients with CLL compared to standard therapies are still not clear.
Methods & findings
This study reviewed 8 clinical trials including 3778 patients with previously untreated CLL who were ineligible for fludarabine (Fludara) treatment. Patients treated with acalabrutinib alone or combined with obinutuzumab were compared to those treated with other standard treatments for CLL.
Standard treatments included bendamustine plus rituximab (BR), chlorambucil-based treatment, alemtuzumab (Campath), ibrutinib alone or in combination, and venetoclax (Venclexta) plus obinutuzumab. Also, acalabrutinib alone or in combination was associated with a significantly lower risk of mortality compared to other standard treatments.
Acalabrutinib plus obinutuzumab were associated with the highest progression-free survival (PFS; 99.77%) and overall survival (OS; 94.31%). This treatment was followed by acalabrutinib alone (PFS – 87.51%, OS – 86.8%) and by ibrutinib plus obinutuzumab (PFS – 83.66%, OS – 67.63%).
The bottom line
This study concluded that acalabrutinib was associated with favorable outcomes compared to standard CLL treatments.
The fine print
This study analyzed very different studies. Also, the study was funded by AstraZeneca, the manufacturer of acalabrutinib.
Published By :
Clinical therapeutics
Date :
Oct 05, 2020
