Frontline Treatment Options Available for Patients With CLL

Jennifer Woyach, MD, an associate professor, Department of Internal Medicine, The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center—James, discusses the frontline options for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

There are a number of options in the first-line setting for patients with CLL, Woyach says. In terms of targeted therapies, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) can be used on its own as a single agent and most often is. However, acalabrutinib (Calquence), another BTK inhibitor, can be used with or without Obinutuzumab (Gazyva). There is also data on venetoclax (Venclexta) in combination with obinutuzumab.

Chemoimmunotherapy options are still considered, such as the fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) regimen. FCR is considered especially for younger patients with IGVH-mutant CLL. Bendamustine/rituximab and chlorambucil/obinutuzumab are also still available, but Woyach says there are not a lot of scenarios where these would be used now.

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