Lori Leslie, MD, lymphoma oncologist at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, discusses toxicities and outcomes observed in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with acalabrutinib (Calquence) in real-world clinics.
New agents are entering the CLL therapeutic landscape. Acalabrutinib, a BTK inhibitor, is one of the newest drugs approved for the treatment of CLL in first-line and relapsed/refractory settings. The difference between acalabrutinib and the other BTK inhibitor, ibrutinib (Imbruvica), is the toxicity profile. Some people have become intolerant to ibrutinib and alternative therapies are needed.
Researchers at the John Theurer Cancer Center conducted a real-world outcomes study to evaluate patients treated with acalabrutinib due to ibrutinib intolerance. They found that the treatment discontinuation rate among patients receiving acalabrutinib was low. This finding suggests that acalabrutinib is a well-tolerated alternative for patients who have developed an intolerance to ibrutinib, Leslie says.
