In a nutshell
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of ibrutinib compared to other standard treatments in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
This study concluded that ibrutinib is more effective than other standard treatments in these patients.
Some background
Standard treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) involve chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy. Ibrutinib (Imbruvica) is a targeted therapy known as a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI). It is also used for B cell cancers such as CLL.
It was unknown if ibrutinib was more effective than other standard treatments in patients with CLL.
Methods & findings
This study involved 604 treatment naïve (TN) and 945 relapsed/refractory (RR) patients with CLL. In the TN group, 29.3% of patients received fludarabine (Fludara), cyclophosphamide (Cytoxan) and rituximab (Rituximab) or the FCR regimen. 17.7% of patients received bendamustine (Treanda) and rituximab (BR regimen). 22% of the TN group received other rituximab-containing treatments.
In the RR group, 38.7% of patients received other non-FCR/BR rituximab-containing treatments. 28.5% of patients received non-rituximab containing treatments.
In the TN group, progression-free survival (PFS) rates were 77% higher with ibrutinib compared to standard treatments for CLL. The overall survival (OS) rates were 60% better for the ibrutinib group when compared to other treatments in the TN group.
In the RR group, PFS rates were 79% higher with ibrutinib than with standard treatments. OS rates were 71% better for the ibrutinib group when compared to other treatments in the RR group.
The bottom line
This study concluded that ibrutinib was more effective than other standard treatments for CLL.
The fine print
This study was funded by Janssen Pharmaceutica NV and Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company, the manufacturer of ibrutinib.
Published By :
Annals of Hematology
Date :
Nov 19, 2019
