The side-effects profile of novel drugs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

William Wierda, MD, PhD from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX discusses the side-effects profile of novel drugs in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), presented at the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2015 Annual Meeting, in Orlando, FL. Ibrutinib (trade name Imbruvica) and idelalisib are effective at controlling the disease, but occasionally, patients do have to interrupt treatment due to side-effects. Less toxic drugs, within the same category in respect to mechanism of action, have been developed and are currently being tested in clinical trials.