Evaluating long-term outcomes of ibrutinib for relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma

This study evaluated the long-term outcomes of ibrutinib (Imbruvica) treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory (does not respond to treatment) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). This study concluded that ibrutinib is effective and well-tolerated in these patients.

MCL is a rare but aggressive type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Patients who relapse after initial therapy or develop refractory disease tend to have poor outcomes. For these patients, ibrutinib has become the preferred therapy. 

Ibrutinib is a targeted therapy. This type of treatment only targets cancer cells and blocks their growth. This leads to cancer cell death. The long-term outcomes of ibrutinib treatment in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL remain under investigation.

This study involved 370 patients with relapsed or refractory MCL. 73.2% of patients had received 2 or more prior lines of therapy. All patients received ibrutinib. Patients were followed-up for an average of 41.4 months. 

Overall, 69.7% of patients responded to treatment. 27.0% of patients had a disappearance of all signs of cancer (complete response). 42.7% of patients had tumor shrinkage (partial response). The average overall survival (time from treatment until death from any cause) was 26.7 months. The average progression-free survival (time from treatment until tumor growth or spread; PFS) was 12.5 months.  

Patients who received ibrutinib as a second line of treatment had a much higher PFS compared to patients who had more than 1 prior line of therapy (25.4 months vs. 10.3 months). More of these patients also responded to treatment (77.8% vs. 66.8%), with a higher complete response rate (37.4% vs. 23.2%). 

Overall, 62.7% of patients experienced serious side effects. The most common included pneumonia (12.4%) and abnormal heart rhythms (5.4%). 10.3% of patients stopped treatment due to side effects. 

This study concluded that ibrutinib is effective and well-tolerated in patients with relapsed or refractory MCL. The authors suggest that ibrutinib may be a good option for patients who relapse early after first-line treatment. 

This study receives support from Janssen Research & Development, the developer of ibrutinib.