Peter Hillmen, MBChb, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath from St. James’ University Hospital, Leeds, UK talks about current clinical trials in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and how they might change the standard of care. Fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab (FCR) therapy is the standard of care for young, fit patients. Prof. Hillmen discusses upcoming trials, such as the FLAIR trial of rituximab and ibrutinib vs FCR (ISRCTN01844152). For elderly patients, obinutuzumab, chlorambucil, and bendamustine are starting to be used. Prof. Hillmen then discusses the use of ibrutinib, which is generally well-tolerated. Further, he discusses new agents such as acalabrutinib and the results with venetoclax, which are also impressive according to Prof. Hillmen. Overall, the developments in the field are exciting and the hope is that we can move towards a curative treatment for CLL.
How new drugs may change the standard of care for CLL
