BSH 2017 | Refining and improving treatment options in CLL

Peter Hillmen, MBChB, PhD, FRCP, FRCPath from Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust, Leeds, UK discusses the movements being made to refine the use of novel biological agents, in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). There are several different therapies available for CLL, such as ibrutinib and venetoclax, that target the tumor in multiple ways. This gives rise to the possibility of developing targeted therapies, by combining them and exploiting the different mechanism pathways. Moreover, to improve the survival outcomes of patients it may be beneficial to move up the time-course for the administration of effective therapy. As well as improving patient outcome, it is crucial to focus on improving the quality of life of patients, which could drastically be improved be the availability of a short-term treatment and subsequent monitoring, instead of life-long therapy. This interview was recorded at the 2017 British Society for Hematology (BSH) Annual Scientific Meeting in Brighton, UK. This video has been supported by Napp Pharmaceuticals Ltd through an unrestricted educational grant to Magdalen Medical Publishing.