ASH 2018 | Ibrutinib emerging as the new standard of care for frontline elderly CLL: ALLIANCE results
The most effective initial therapy for elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has not yet been established, as there has been a lack of comparison of chemoimmunotherapy and targeted therapy with the BTK inhibitor ibrutinib. The Phase III ALLIANCE A041202 trial (NCT01886872) aimed to make this comparison, having three arms: bendamustine plus rituximab (BR), ibrutinib, and ibrutinib plus rituximab. Jennifer Woyach, MD, of Ohio State University College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, presents the results of this international trial from the American Society of Hematology (ASH) 2018 Annual Meeting and Exposition in San Diego, CA. Dr Woyach highlights the progression-free survival results, which were superior in the ibrutinib arm vs. the BR arm, while the addition of rituximab to ibrutinib had no significant benefit.
