Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia/Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma

This year’s most-read articles on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) explored treatment adherence patterns, patient symptom assessment, research on treatment efficacy, and more.

Sikander Ailawadhi, MD, discusses how emerging trends in targeted therapies, immunotherapies, and precision medicine presented at ASH 2024 are addressing unmet needs in the management of hematologic cancers and shaping future treatment strategies.

Secondary immunodeficiency disease (SID) status was associated with significantly higher risk for severe bacterial infections in adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

Three abstracts presented at the 2024 American Society of Hematology annual meeting focused on patient preferences and treatment choices in blood cancers.

The study offers insights on how to counteract resistance to Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors.

Long-term data support the safety and efficacy of venetoclax (Venclexta) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), though questions remain about which patients would benefit most from the regimen.

Meaningful change thresholds for the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) are: −11/+11 for symptom burden, −16/+16 for physical condition/fatigue, and −16/+13 for worries/fears.

Despite found associations, due to small sample sizes the researchers suggest readers interpret their findings with caution.

This multiyear follow-up of more than 3300 patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (R/R CLL) who received ibrutinib—the longest study of its kind—confirms the agent’s efficacy as a salvage treatment but reveals new information about its impact in different subpopulations with varying clinical characteristics.

The new report is an attempt to provide comprehensive safety data on the rapidly changing treatment landscape for relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

For patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated previously with venetoclax and Bruton’s tyrosine kinase inhibitors, many more trials are needed to pinpoint the best next steps

The venetoclax-based regimen was associated with an approximate $8000 decrease in costs compared with the continuous Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor treatment 6 months after the fixed-duration period.

These findings suggest that KIR2DS2-positive (KIR2DS2+) natural killer (NK) cells could be an attractive therapeutic target for in vivo strategies, although enhanced effector function is lost during ex vivo expansion needed for NK cell–based therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor–NK cell treatment.

Although Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor monotherapy in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been a game-changer, patients have significantly increased risks of infection, especially in the upper respiratory tract.

The long-term response rate for zanubrutinib was better than ibrutinib in patients with relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

A new study identifies potential immune profile differences in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) that may lead to resistance after ibrutinib therapy.

The study found that the price tag for the second-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor would need to be reduced by 30% in order to be cost-effective compared with bendamustine-rituximab (R-bendamustine) for these patients.

Patients with low-count chronic lymphocytic leukemia phenotype monoclonal B-cell lymphocytosis had a 1.86-fold greater risk of melanoma.

A comparison of the second-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor acalabrutinib to the first-generation ibrutinib shows the former had lower rates of adverse events in a real-world setting.

Most patients diagnosed with chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia (CP-CML) who achieved a deep molecular response on tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy were able to avoid relapse despite discontinuing therapy.

B-cell activating factor receptor chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy caused cytotoxic effects on all chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) cell lines.

Researchers report on the long-term immune changes in patients with refractory or relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with venetoclax and rituximab plus bendamustine and rituximab.

New study provides insights into the relationship between TP53, miR-34a, and NOTCH1 in CLL cells.

Physicians in the US, Germany, and France show gaps in their knowledge of the treatment of of refractory/relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and mantle Cell lymphoma (MCL).

Undetectable measurable residual disease rates can help predict progression-free survival in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia, according to an analysis.