In a nutshell
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ibrutinib and obinutuzumab combination in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
This study concluded that this combination is safe and highly effective as a treatment for these patients.
Some background
Obinutuzumab (Gazyva) and ibrutinib (Imbruvica) are targeted therapies. They work to stop the growth of cancer cells. Both obinutuzumab and ibrutinib have been proven very effective in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
However, the safety and effectiveness of the combination of obinutuzumab and ibrutinib remains under investigation.
Methods & findings
This study involved 61 patients. Of these patients, 30 were previously untreated, while 31 had relapsed or unresponsive CLL. 44 patients also received bendamustine (Treanda) chemotherapy for shrinking the tumors. All patients received 6 courses of induction (first treatment meant to reduce the number of cancer cells) treatment with ibrutinib and obinutuzumab. Patients who responded to this treatment continued ibrutinib and obinutuzumab as maintenance therapy (treatment that aims to prevent relapse).
The overall response rate after induction treatment was 100%. 54.1% of patients achieved partial remission. 45.9% of patients achieved clinical complete remission.
The most common side effects after induction were low white blood cell count that helps fight infection (14.8%) and low platelet (blood cells involved in clotting) in 13.1% of patients.
The bottom line
This study concluded that the combination involving ibrutinib and obinutuzumab is safe and effective for patients with CLL.
The fine print
This study had a small patient population Further studies need to be carried out on larger groups of patients.
Published By :
Leukemia
Date :
Dec 19, 2018
