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ESH CLL 2026 | Acalabrutinib in frail patients with CLL: results from the CLL-Frail study
Barbara Eichhorst, MD, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany, discusses the results of the Phase II CLL-Frail study (NCT04883749), which investigated the use of acalabrutinib in elderly patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Dr Eichhorst encouraging response and progression-free survival (PFS) rates as well as improvements in patient-reported frailty despite treatment discontinuations due to side effects This interview took place at the ESH CLL 2026 congress in Stockholm, Sweden.
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Transcript
We did a trial in patient population, which is usually not addressed in CLL, which were patients above the age of 80 years or having a high frailty score according to their own judgment. And we treated these patients with continuous treatment with acalabrutinib. And what the study results show is that the response rate and the PFS rates are really very remarkable in this elderly patient population...
We did a trial in patient population, which is usually not addressed in CLL, which were patients above the age of 80 years or having a high frailty score according to their own judgment. And we treated these patients with continuous treatment with acalabrutinib. And what the study results show is that the response rate and the PFS rates are really very remarkable in this elderly patient population. However, we do see that more than one-third of the patients are stopping the treatment within two years due to side effects, also showing how vulnerable this patient population is. For me, the most impressive results from this trial is when we look at the frailty score in the patients and that we see that in nearly 50% of the patients, their own judgment on their frailty is improving while being on the treatment. And I think that’s an important message when we look at an 82-year-old patient who is really very sick due to their CLL that we do not suggest best supportive care because some of his frailty may just be due to the untreated CLL and at least I think that’s what the studies show and trying to treat these patients and seeing how the frailty is maybe improving. That’s an important message.
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