ASH 2021 | Phase II trial of mini-hyper-CVD plus venetoclax in Ph-negative ALL

In preclinical investigations, venetoclax has demonstrated promising activity in both B- and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). For older patients with Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-negative ALL, low-intensity chemotherapy with mini-hyper-CVD (cyclophosphamide and dexamethasone at 50% dose reduction, no anthracycline, methotrexate at 75% dose reduction, and cytarabine at 0.5 g/m2 x 4 doses) shows efficacy with reduced toxicity and thus, it was hypothesized that adding venetoclax to mini-hyper-CVD may improve outcomes for these patients. Sangeetha Venugopal, MD, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, discusses the results of a Phase II trial investigating mini-hyper-CVD plus venetoclax in Ph-negative ALL. In total, 23 patients were treated, 4 frontline and 19 relapsed/refractory (R/R). Treatment was well-tolerated overall. Composite complete response (CR) rates were 75% and 65% in the frontline and R/R groups, respectively. These findings justify the continued investigation of venetoclax-based regimens in ALL. This interview took place at the 63rd ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition congress in Atlanta, GA.