ASH 2022 | ASH CLL highlights: ibrutinib-venetoclax combination & undetectable MRD in IGHV-mutated patients

Yeah, very interesting here at the ASH meeting, there was a whole session about the combination of ibrutinib plus venetoclax. The combination has been already approved by the EMA in Europe and not yet approved by the FDA. So this is a double oral combination and based on the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib and the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax, given for a total of 15 months: three months run in with ibrutinib, and then venetoclax added for 12 months.

There was a whole session on the combination from different Phase II, but also from a Phase III study, the GLOW study. There are few from these different studies also with a little bit different variants of the administration. For me, there are two really exciting data. One is what Tahla Munir showed from the UK, the CLARITY study, is something we know from CML, that the faster we approach towards undetectable MRD, the longer will be the progression-free survival in patients when once you stop the treatment. That’s a key, interesting aspect.

And the other one is Carsten Niemann presented from an analysis from the GLOW study that for patients with a mutated IGVH status, at least with the current follow up, it makes no difference if patients have undetectable MRD or not while it makes a difference for patients with unmutated IGVH status, and also that there is now an overall survival difference in the GLOW study for the favoring the IV combination in comparison to chlorambucil plus obinutuzumab.