EBMT 2017 | Transplantation versus novel therapies in high-risk chronic lymphoblastic leukemia (CLL)?

John Gribben, MD, DSc, FRCPath, FMed Sci, from Barts Cancer Institute, London, UK, discusses transplantation versus novel therapies for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) at the 2017 annual meeting of the European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) in Marseille, France. Prof. Gribben explains that the challenge that has always been present has been balancing up how to identify the right patient for transplant before it is too late. Until recently, high risk CLL patients did not have many treatment options. However, new agents such as ibrutinib, venetoclax, and idelalisib, have recently provided new possibilities for these high risk patients whom allogenic stem cell transplants used to be considered one of the only options. Prof Gribben speaks about how allogeneic stem cell transplant fits in the current chronic lymphoblastic leukemia treatment landscape. He explains that exactly where a transplant fits with these novel agents, is dependent on what agents there is access to in a specific region. Access to at least two of those agents means we are pushing back transplantation.