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Introduction: Longitudinal changes in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) are important in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). GIBB (NCT02320487) is an open-label, single-arm phase II study of obinutuzumab (GA101; G) in combination with bendamustine (G-Benda) in patients with previously untreated CLL. A previous report from the GIBB study demonstrated an investigator-assessed objective response rate of 89.2%, a complete response rate of 49.0%, and no unexpected safety signals with G-Benda (Sharman et al. J Clin Oncol 2017). Here we report the final HRQoL data over 3 years from the GIBB study. Methods: Enrolled patients received G-Benda by intravenous infusion over six 28-day cycles: G 100mg on Day (D)1, 900mg on D2, and 1000mg on D8 and D15 of Cycle (C)1, then 1000mg on D1 of C2-6; benda 90mg/m2 on D2-3 of C1, and on D1-2 of C2-6. The European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30) includes a global health status measure, 5 functional scales (physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and role functioning), 8 symptom scales/items (fatigue, nausea and vomiting, pain, dyspnea, insomnia, appetite loss, constipation, and diarrhea), and an item on financial difficulties (Aaronson et al. J Natl Cancer Inst 1993). The EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire-Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia 16 (QLQ-CLL16) is a 16-item module, specific to CLL, containing 4 multi-item scales (fatigue, treatment side effects, disease symptoms, and infection) and 2 single items (social activities and future health worries). Both questionnaires were completed by patients on C1D1 (baseline), C3D1, and C6D1, at the end of induction (EOI) treatment (defined as +28 days from C6D1 or early treatment termination visit), at the response visit (defined as 2-3 months after the EOI treatment for all patients who received study treatment and had not experienced disease progression), and every 3 months thereafter at follow-up visits for up to 2 years. In total, there were 14 timepoints where data were collected. HRQoL scores were linear transformed to a 0-100-point scale. Mean baseline scores and mean score changes from baseline at each visit were evaluated. A threshold of ≥10-point change in score represents a clinically meaningful difference. For symptoms, negative change scores from baseline reflect an improvement in symptom burden. For global health status and functioning, positive change scores from baseline reflect improvements. Results: The trial enrolled 102 patients. Median age was 61 years and 68.4% of patients were male. Ninety-eight patients (96%) completed a questionnaire at baseline and at least 1 other questionnaire during a follow-up visit. Questionnaire completion rates at 14 time points ranged from 96% at baseline to 66% at 27 months follow-up (Table 1). According to the EORTC QLQ-C30 (Figure 1), improvements were observed for global health status at all follow-up visits, and clinically meaningful improvements were observed at the response visit, 3 months follow-up, and 27 months follow-up. Clinically meaningful improvements in role functioning were observed at EOI and persisted throughout the 27-month follow-up. For fatigue, clinically meaningful improvements were observed at every visit starting from the end of treatment (EOT) visit. Improvements were also observed for insomnia with mean reductions from baseline ≥10 points at various time points during follow-up. There was no worsening in other patient-reported symptoms or functional status over time. Similarly, with the EORTC QLQ-CLL16 (Figure 2), clinically meaningful improvements in symptoms were observed for fatigue, disease symptoms, and future health worries during treatment, at the EOT and/or throughout the follow-up. The largest improvement was observed for fatigue (-24.7) at the 24-month follow-up and future health worries (-25.4) at the 27-month follow-up. Conclusions: We previously reported that G-Benda is an effective regimen for first-line treatment of CLL with no unexpected safety signals. The HRQoL data from the GIBB trial suggest that G-Benda treatment consistently improved patient HRQoL over time. Several clinically meaningful improvements were observed in HRQoL, including global health status, functioning, symptoms, and future health worries. Disclosures Danilov: AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; MEI: Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb: Research Funding; Verastem Oncology: Consultancy, Other: Travel Reimbursement , Research Funding; Takeda Oncology: Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bristol-Meyers Squibb: Research Funding; Takeda Oncology: Research Funding; Aptose Biosciences: Research Funding; Aptose Biosciences: Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Bayer Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Curis: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Verastem Oncology: Consultancy, Other: Travel Reimbursement , Research Funding; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Research Funding; Bayer Oncology: Consultancy, Research Funding; Curis: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; MEI: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Celgene: Consultancy; Gilead Sciences: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Abbvie: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy. Yimer:AstraZeneca: Speakers Bureau; Janssen: Speakers Bureau; Seattle Genetics: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Clovis Oncology: Equity Ownership; Puma Biotechnology: Equity Ownership; Amgen: Consultancy. Boxer:Gerson Lerman: Consultancy; Best Doctors: Consultancy; Takeda: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau; AbbVie: Honoraria, Speakers Bureau. Burke:Celgene: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy; Roche/Genentech: Consultancy. Babu:Genentech: Research Funding. Li:Genentech: Employment; Roche: Equity Ownership. Mun:Genentech: Employment, Equity Ownership. Trask:Genentech: Employment, Equity Ownership. Masaquel:Roche: Equity Ownership; Genentech: Employment. Sharman:Acerta: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. OffLabel Disclosure: GAZYVA (obinutuzumab) is a CD20-directed cytolytic antibody and is indicated: in combination with chlorambucil, for the treatment of patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia; in combination with bendamustine followed by GAZYVA monotherapy, for the treatment of patients with follicular lymphoma (FL) who relapsed after, or are refractory to, a rituximab-containing regimen

PURPOSE The CLL14 study has established one-year fixed-duration treatment of venetoclax and obinutuzumab (Ven-Obi) for patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. With all patients off treatment for at least three years, we report a detailed analysis of minimal residual disease (MRD) kinetics and long-term outcome of patients treated in the CLL14 study. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients were randomly assigned to receive six cycles of obinutuzumab with 12 cycles of venetoclax or 12 cycles of chlorambucil (Clb-Obi). Progression-free survival (PFS) was the primary end point. Key secondary end points included rates of undetectable MRD and overall survival. To analyze MRD kinetics, a population-based growth model with nonlinear mixed effects approach was developed. RESULTS Of 432 patients, 216 were assigned to Ven-Obi and 216 to Clb-Obi. Three months after treatment completion, 40% of patients in the Ven-Obi arm (7% in the Clb-Obi arm) had undetectable MRD levels < 10−6 by next-generation sequencing in peripheral blood. Median MRD doubling time was longer after Ven-Obi than Clb-Obi therapy (median 80 v 69 days). At a median follow-up of 52.4 months, a sustained significant PFS improvement was observed in the Ven-Obi arm compared with Clb-Obi (median not reached v 36.4 months; hazard ratio 0.33; 95% CI, 0.25 to 0.45; P < .0001). The estimated 4-year PFS rate was 74.0% in the Ven-Obi and 35.4% in the Clb-Obi arm. No difference in overall survival was observed (hazard ratio 0.85; 95% CI, 0.54 to 1.35; P = .49). No new safety signals occurred. CONCLUSION Appearance of MRD after Ven-Obi is significantly slower than that after Clb-Obi with more effective MRD reduction. These findings translate into a superior long-term efficacy with the majority of Ven-Obi–treated patients remaining in remission.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)-related symptoms impair the well-being of patients, making improvement of health-related quality of life (QoL) a goal of treatment. The CLL14 trial demonstrated higher efficacy of fixed-duration venetoclax-obinutuzumab (Ven-Obi) compared to chlorambucil-obinutuzumab (Clb-Obi) in patients with previously untreated CLL. To assess patients' QoL, the following patient-reported outcomes (PRO) measures were assessed: the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI) core instrument and CLL module and the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30). At treatment start, physical functioning (mean 75.9 [standard deviation (SD) ± 20.1] in the Clb-Obi arm and 76.9 [±19.4] in the Ven-Obi arm), role functioning (73.6 [±27.86] and 72.6 [±26.9]) and GHS/QoL (63.6 [±21.0] and 60.3 [±20.5]) were comparable between treatment arms per EORTC QLQ-C30 scale scores. Baseline levels of physical and role functioning were maintained throughout treatment and follow-up, with no relevant improvement or deterioration. On average, patients treated with Ven-Obi showed a meaningful improvement of GHS/QoL during treatment and follow-up by at least eight points at cycle three, whereas improvement was delayed until cycle eight with Clb-Obi. According to MDASI scores, CLL symptoms (1.5 [±1.2] and 1.6 [±1.3]), core cancer symptoms (1.5 [±1.4] and 1.8 [±1.7]) and symptom interference (2.1 [±2.3] and 2.3 [±2.3]) were generally low and comparable between treatment arms at baseline and were maintained throughout treatment and follow-up. This analysis demonstrates that the higher efficacy of Ven-Obi is not associated with QoL impairment and that Ven-Obi achieves early relief of CLL-related symptoms in elderly unfit patients.

Chemoimmunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab can induce longterm remissions in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Treatment efficacy with Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors was found similar to fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab in untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients with a mutated immunoglobulin heavy chain variable gene. To identify patients who specifically benefit from fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab, we developed integrative models including established prognostic parameters and gene expression profiling. Gene expression profiling was conducted on n=337 CLL8 trial samples, "core" probe sets were summarized on gene levels and RMA normalized. Prognostic models were built using penalized Cox proportional hazards models with the smoothly clipped absolute deviation penalty. We identified a prognostic signature of less than a dozen genes, which substituted for established prognostic factors, including TP53 and immunoglobulin heavy chain variable gene mutation status. Independent prognostic impact was confirmed for treatment, β2-microglobulin and del(17p) regarding overall survival and for treatment, del(11q), del(17p) and SF3B1 mutation for progression-free survival. The combination of independent prognostic and gene expression profiling variables performed equal to models including only established non-gene expression profiling variables. Gene expression profiling variables showed higher prognostic accuracy for patients with long progression-free survival compared to categorical variables like the immunoglobulin heavy chain variable gene mutation status and reliably predicted overall survival in CLL8 and an independent cohort. Gene expression profiling based prognostic models can help to identify patients who specifically benefit from fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab treatment. The CLL8 trial is registered under EUDRACT- 2004-004938-14 and ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier NCT00281918.

The ALLIANCE A041202 trial found that continuously administered ibrutinib in the first-line setting significantly prolonged progression-free survival compared with a fixed-duration treatment of rituximab and bendamustine in older adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In this study, we created a Markov model to assess the cost-effectiveness of ibrutinib in the first-line setting, compared with a strategy of using ibrutinib in the third-line after failure of time-limited bendamustine and venetoclax-based regimens. We estimated transition probabilities from randomized trials using parametric survival modeling. Lifetime direct health care costs, quality-adjusted life years (QALYs), and incremental cost-effectiveness ratios (ICERs) were calculated from a US payer perspective. First-line ibrutinib was associated with an improvement of 0.26 QALYs and 0.40 life-years compared with using ibrutinib in the third-line setting. However, using ibrutinib in the first-line led to significantly higher health care costs (incremental cost of $612 700), resulting in an ICER of $2 350 041 per QALY. The monthly cost of ibrutinib would need to be decreased by 72% for first-line ibrutinib therapy to be cost-effective at a willingness-to-pay threshold of $150 000 per QALY. In a scenario analysis where ibrutinib was used in the second-line in the delayed ibrutinib arm, first-line ibrutinib had an incremental cost of $478 823, an incremental effectiveness of 0.05 QALYs, and an ICER of $9 810 360 per QALY when compared with second-line use. These data suggest that first-line ibrutinib for unselected older adults with CLL is unlikely to be cost-effective under current pricing. Delaying ibrutinib for most patients with CLL until later lines of therapy may be a reasonable strategy to limit health care costs without compromising clinical outcomes.

Until recently, a combination of anti-CD20 antibody plus less intensive chemotherapy was a standard of care in elderly population with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The aim of this observational study was to retrospectively assess efficacy and safety of obinutuzumab + chlorambucil (G-Clb), rituximab + chlorambucil (R-Clb), and bendamustine + rituximab (BR) given as the frontline therapy within routine practice. The final analyzed dataset included 398 consecutive CLL patients from 10 hematology centers cooperating within the Czech CLL Study Group: 63 treated with G-Clb, 78 with R-Clb, and 257 with BR. There were no significant differences in prognostic and predictive markers among the groups. On the contrary, median age at the start of therapy and cumulative illness rating scale (CIRS) score was significantly higher in R-Clb group. Obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil regimen was preferably offered to elderly patients (compared to BR) with less severe comorbidities and lower CIRS score (compared to R-Clb). A time period when a treatment was indicated had also a strong impact on the choice of the regimen. The overall response rate reached 76% (30% complete remissions, CRs) in G-Clb, 75% (22% CRs) in R-Clb, and 85% (47% CRs) in BR group. Median event-free survival was 49.0 months for G-Clb, 20.3 months for R-Clb, and 37.0 months for BR group. Neutropenia grade ≥ 3 developed in 43% of G-Clb, 31% of R-Clb and in 49% of BR patients, grade ≥ 3 infections were recorded in 17% of G-Clb, 6.4% of R-Clb, and 17% of BR patients. In conclusion, real-world therapeutic activity of G-Clb appears to be at least comparable to prospective clinical trial data. R-Clb yields relatively good results in very old and severely comorbid patients.

Purpose Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is one of the most frequent type of B-cell chronic lymphoproliferative disorders and chronic inflammation takes part in the development of CLL. However, there has been no valid immune biomarker to predict the prognosis of untreated CLL patients. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, we analyzed the clinical correlations and prognostic value of albumin-to-fibrinogen ratio (AFR) detected at diagnosis in 191 CLL patients. Results The cut-off value of AFR was 9.7 calculated by X-tile. Patients who were more than 65 years old were often accompanied by low level of AFR (p < 0.001). Survival analysis showed that patients with low level of AFR had shorter overall survival (OS) than patients with high level of AFR (p < 0.001). Multivariate analysis illustrated that AFR had a negative impact on OS (p=0.003) and was independent of parameters involved in CLL international prognostic index and other prognostic markers such as CD38 and ZAP-70. Conclusion These data provide a comprehensive view of AFR and shows that AFR at diagnosis is an adverse prognostic factor in untreated CLL patients.

The prevalence, clinicopathologic correlates, and outcomes of previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients with IGH-BCL2 and IGH-BCL3 translocations are not well known. Using the Mayo Clinic CLL database, we identified patients seen between March 1, 2002 and September 30, 2016 who had FISH testing performed within 3 years of CLL diagnosis. The prognostic profile, time to first therapy (TTT), and overall survival (OS) of patients with IGH-BCL2 and IGH-BCL3 trans-location were compared to patients without these abnormalities (non-IGH group). Of 1684 patients who met the inclusion criteria, 38 (2.2%) had IGH-BCL2, and 16 (0.9%) had IGH-BCL3 translocation at diagnosis. Patients with IGH-BCL3 translocation were more likely to have high and very-high CLL-International Prognostic Index, compared to patients with IGH-BCL2 translocation and the non-IGH group. The 5-year probability of requiring therapy was significantly higher for IGH-BCL3 compared to IGH-BCL2 and non-IGH groups (84% vs 33% vs 29%, respectively, P < 0.0001). The 5-year OS was significantly shorter for IGH-BCL3 compared to IGH-BCL2 and non-IGH groups (45% vs 89% vs 86%, respectively, P < 0.0001). On multivariable analyses, IGH-BCL3 translocation was associated with a shorter TTT (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.7; P = 0.005) and shorter OS (HR = 5.5; P < 0.0001); IGH-BCL2 translocation did not impact TTT and OS. In conclusion, approximately 3% of all newly diagnosed CLL patients have either an IGH-BCL2 or IGH-BCL3 translocation. Patients with IGH-BCL3 translocations have a distinct prognostic profile and outcome. These results support the inclusion of an IGH probe during the routine evaluation of FISH abnormalities in newly diagnosed CLL.

Background: The concurrent of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in a patient is a rare situation, and has caused obstacles in clinical management. Case presentation: In the current study, we described a 64-year old female who was characterized by intermittent fatigue, edema of both lower limbs, dyspnea, and occasionally fever up to 39°C. The admission blood routine detections and the flow cytometry showed the patient was impaired by both CLL and AML. In RT-qPCR molecular detection, KMT2A-ELL fusion gene t (11:10) (q23:p13.1) was detected, which was verified by FISH detections. The next-generation sequencing (NGS) revealed a missense mutation of p.V157F in the coding sequence of TP53 gene, and frameshift mutations of p.V220fs and p.A382fs in the coding sequence of WT1. Conclusions: Collectively, the patient reported in this case was simultaneously impaired by CLL and AML. Our findings also inferred that the concurrent of CLL and AML might be attributed to the fusion mutation in KMT2A-ELL gene.

Inhibiting the activity of Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) prevents the activation of the B‐cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway, which in turn prevents both B‐cell activation and BTK‐mediated activation of downstream survival pathways. Acalabrutinib is an orally available, highly selective, next-generation inhibitor of BTK. Based on the results of two key phase 3 trials (ELEVATE-TN in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia [CLL] and ASCEND in patients with relapsed or refractory CLL), which demonstrated superior progression-free survival while maintaining favorable tolerability, acalabrutinib was granted US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in 2019 for the treatment of patients with CLL. Acalabrutinib appears to offer similar efficacy but a significantly improved tolerability profile to first-generation agents. Acalabrutinib is a good candidate to combine with other anti-cancer therapies, including B-cell lymphoma 2 inhibitors and monoclonal antibodies, a factor that may help to further improve clinical outcomes in CLL.

Comprehensive characterization of somatic genomic alterations has led to fundamental shifts in our understanding of tumor biology. In clinical practice, these studies can lead to modifications of diagnosis and/or specific treatment implications, fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine. Herein, we describe a 78-yr-old woman under surveillance for long-standing untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Molecular studies from a peripheral blood specimen revealed a TP53 p.V157F mutation, whereas karyotype and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) identified a 17p deletion, trisomy 12, and no evidence of IGH-CCND1 rearrangement. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography scan identified multistation intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy and a pulmonary nodule, and subsequent pulmonary wedge resection confirmed the presence of a concurrent lung adenocarcinoma. Targeted next-generation sequencing of the lung tumor identified an EGFR in-frame exon 19 deletion, two TP53 mutations (p.P152Q, p.V157F), and, unexpectedly, a IGH-CCND1 rearrangement. Follow-up immunohistochemistry (IHC) studies demonstrated a cyclin D1–positive lymphoid aggregate within the lung adenocarcinoma. The presence of the TP53 p.V157F mutation in the lung resection, detection of an IGH-CCND1 rearrangement, and cyclin D1 positivity by IHC led to revision of the patient's hematologic diagnosis and confirmed the extranodal presence of mantle cell lymphoma within the lung mass, thus representing a “tumor in tumor.” Manual review of the sequencing data suggested the IGH-CCND1 rearrangement occurred via an insertional event, whose size precluded detection by original FISH studies. Thus, routine imaging for this patient's known hematologic malignancy led to detection of an unexpected solid tumor, whose subsequent precision medicine studies in the solid tumor redefined the original hematological diagnosis.

Due to age and comorbidities many patients with CLL receive chlorambucil as front-line treatment. Doses and schedules of this drug vary widely but it is not clear whether this affects outcomes. We performed this retrospective analysis to compare the efficacy and toxicity of continuous high-dose chlorambucil (12-20 mg daily until response or toxicity) (cHD-Clb- R) and intermittent high dose chlorambucil (8-10 mg/m2 daily for 7 days q 4 wk) (iClb-R) in combination with rituximab (375 mg/m2/cycle for 8 cycles) in previously untreated CLL patients. Thirtysix patients received cHD-Clb- R and 32 iClb-R. Median age was 66 years (range 41-80) ; 24 were women and 44 men ; 24 had Binet stage A, 27 B and 17 C ; 5 had del(17p). Most common severe adverse events were granulocytopenia, occurring in 14 ; and infections in 7 patients, one of whom died. One patient stopped treatment due to hepatotoxicity. Both schedules resulted in similar toxicity and efficacy (cHD-Clb-R vs. iClb-R overall survival, progression-free survival and survival without next treatment at 30 mo. 70% vs. 83%, 49% vs. 55% and 67% vs. 75% respectively). Combinations of rituximab and chlorambucil are well tolerated and effective treatments for patients ineligible for fludarabine- based regimens. Outcomes seem to be related more to total drug doses than schedules.

Individuals suffering from cancer, including hematological malignancies, are at increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Elevated levels of several biomarkers in blood are associated with an increased risk of CVD. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a subset of such CVD risk biomarkers was elevated in patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Blood plasma and serum from 139 CLL patients and 71 healthy age-matched controls were analyzed for 11 proposed CVD risk biomarkers. The CLL cohort displayed a more heterogeneous pattern of biomarker expression compared to controls. The majority, eight out of 11, analyzed CVD risk biomarkers differed significantly in concentrations between CLL patients and controls. Increased levels of the biomarkers GDF15 and myostatin have not previously been reported in CLL. Further prospective studies are warranted to investigate whether these biomarkers predict future cardiovascular events in patients with CLL.

This study evaluated long-term immunophenotypic changes in circulating levels of 24 immune cell subsets through 4 years of continuous treatment with first-line ibrutinib (420 mg once daily) in 31 patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) from the RESONATE-2 study, and compared them with untreated age-matched healthy donors (n = 20). Ibrutinib progressively decreased total B-cell counts and preferentially targeted malignant CLL B cells over normal B cells. Elevated counts of chronically activated, exhausted, and effector memory T cells were normalized within 6-16 months, while naive T cells remained mostly within healthy donor range (HDR). Immunosuppressive regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells were normalized within the first 1-2 years and then plateaued. Additionally, ibrutinib restored low counts of innate cell populations associated with antitumor immunity: plasmacytoid dendritic cells were restored to HDR after 2 years, and classical monocyte counts progressively and continuously increased toward HDR. Ibrutinib also consistently preserved circulating mature natural killer cell counts. The data indicate that ibrutinib continuously exerted positive effects on immune cell populations throughout 4 years of treatment, consistent with improved clinical outcomes observed in patients. The normalization of adaptive and innate immune cell populations suggests that long-term ibrutinib treatment mediates restoration of immunity.

Previous studies investigated the efficacy and the safety of bendamustine (B) vs. chlorambucil (Chl) associated with rituximab (R) in fludarabine-ineligible patients with treated and untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). We conducted a retrospective multicenter study in the Lazio region to further evaluate and compare the efficacy and the toxicity of Chl-R and B-R regimen in CLL patients over the age of 65. We enrolled 192 untreated CLL patients: 111 treated with B-R and 81 with Chl-R. The overall response rates (ORR; 93.6% in B-R and 86.5% in Chl-R) were not statistically different between the two groups, such as progression-free survival (PFS), time to retreatment (TTR), and overall survival (OS). The B-R group showed a higher hematological (p = 0.007) and extra-hematological (p = 0.008) toxicity. When comparing the toxicities according to age, we noted that the extra-hematological toxicity was higher in patients over the age of 75 who were treated with B-R than those treated with Chl-R (p = 0.03). This retrospective study confirms the feasibility of B-R and Chl-R in elderly untreated CLL patients. Currently, patients who are over 75 and unfit are usually treated with Chl-R. This scheme allows achieving the same ORR, PFS, TTR, and OS when compared with B-R because of hematological and extra-hematological toxicities due to B, in which a greater dose reduction has been shown in comparison to Chl.

Limited information is available on the efficacy of front‐line bendamustine and rituximab (BR) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) with reduced renal function or coexisting conditions. We therefore analyzed a cohort of real‐world patients and performed a matched adjusted indirect comparison with a cohort of patients treated with ibrutinib. One hundred and fifty‐seven patients with creatinine clearance (CrCl) 6 were treated with BR. The median age was 72 years; 69% of patients had ≥2 comorbidities and the median CrCl was 59.8 mL/min. 17.6% of patients carried TP53 disruption. The median progression‐free survival (PFS) was 45 months; TP53 disruption was associated with a shorter PFS (P = 0.05). The overall survival (OS) at 12, 24, and 36 months was 96.2%, 90.1%, and 79.5%, respectively. TP53 disruption was associated with an increased risk of death (P = 0.01). Data on 162 patients ≥65 years treated with ibrutinib were analyzed and compared with 165 patients ≥65 years treated with BR. Factors predicting for a longer PFS at multivariable analysis in the total patient population treated with BR and ibrutinib were age (HR 1.06, 95% CI 1.02‐1.10, P, Bendamustine and Rituximab was a relatively effective first‐line regimen in real‐world untreated CLL patients with reduced renal function or coexisting conditions without TP53 disruption.In a matched‐adjusted indirect comparison with a cohort of CLL patients treated upfront, ibrutinib provided longer PFS than bendamustine and rituximab in those with advanced stage.

Pleural effusions and empyemas caused by Capnocytophaga spp. are uncommon with few cases previously reported. Here, we present the case of a 62-year-old man with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) complicated by a pleural empyema caused by C. ochracea. The route of acquisition was likely the result of aspiration of C. ochracea coupled with the immune defects associated with untreated CLL.

Several cases have been reported of B. capitatus infections in immunocompromised patients. Acute leukemia is the main predisposing factor. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is not usually associated with opportunistic infections. We report a case of pulmonary infection by B. capitatus in a patient with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Although the patient had a complete recovery, we believe that this report will alert clinicians to consider B. capitatus as possible cause of severe pneumonia in untreated CLL. Keywords: Pneumonia, Blastoschizomyces, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Diagnosis, Therapy

Prognoses of persons with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) including time-to-therapy (TTT) and survival is heterogeneous. Risk factors and predictive scoring systems are mostly developed in persons of predominately European descent with CLL. Whether these systems accurately predict TTT and survival of Han Chinese with CLL is unknown. We interrogated clinical and laboratory data from 334 newly diagnosed, untreated Chinese CLL without treatment indication upon diagnosis to identify variables associated with TTT and develop a prognostic score. Binet stage, blood lymphocyte level, TP53 abnormality, unmutated IGHV, prior HBV, and EBV infections were independently associated with TTT in multivariate analyses. We constructed a prognostic score dividing subjects into cohorts with low, intermediate, and high risk from diagnosis to TTT. Median TTTs were 139 months (range, 85-189 months), 25 months (12-38 months), and 4 months (1-7 months; P-value for trend

Results of RESONATE-2 (PCYC-1115/1116) supported approval of ibrutinib for first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Extended analysis of RESONATE-2 was conducted to determine long-term efficacy and safety of ibrutinib in older patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A total of 269 patients aged ≥65 years with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia without del(17p) were randomized 1:1 to ibrutinib (n=136) or chlorambucil (n=133) on days 1 and 15 of a 28-day cycle for 12 cycles. Median ibrutinib treatment duration was 28.5 months. Ibrutinib significantly prolonged progression-free survival versus chlorambucil (median, not reached vs 15 months; hazard ratio, 0.12; 95% confidence interval, 0.07-0.20; P

The 2017 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology took place 9&ndash, 12 December in Atlanta, Georgia. At the meeting, the oral presentations included results from key studies on the first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia. A series of phase ii studies focusing on the efficacy and safety of novel treatment strategies were especially notable. One concerned the health-related quality of life results from the gibb study, which had examined the combination of obinutuzumab and bendamustine. A second evaluated the venetoclax&ndash, ibrutinib regimen in patients with high-risk disease. The third assessed the combination of ibrutinib, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and obinutuzumab in patients with mutated immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable region genes. The fourth examined the combination of ibrutinib, fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab in younger patients. And the final study evaluated obinutuzumab&ndash, ibrutinib followed by a minimal residual disease strategy in fit patients. Our meeting report describes the foregoing studies and presents interviews with investigators and commentaries by Canadian hematologists about the potential effects on Canadian practice.

Background. In patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) the eradication of minimal residual disease (MRD) is a prognostic factor of overall survival (OS) and progressionfree survival (PFS). IGHV mutational status has also independent prognostic value. Aim. To analyse the impact of mutational status and MRD eradication in CLL patients after first-line standard BR (ben-damustine + rituximab) immunochemotherapy. Materials & Methods. The prospective study included patients with immunophenotypically confirmed CLL who had not previously received anticancer therapy. All patients were treated by BR combination from 2012 to 2015. MRD level was determined in 109 patients after completing the 3rd and the 6th treatment courses. IGHV mutational status data were available for 98 patients. IGHV mutational status was evaluated in accordance with ERIC recommendations. MRD was assessed by standardized method of 4-color flow cytometry. Results. MRD negativity was achieved in 37 (34 %) out of 109 patients. MRD eradication correlated with the best PFS (p = 0.04). IGHV mutational status had a statistically significant impact on PFS (p = 0.02). In patients with MRD-nega-tive response and IGHV mutation no unfavorable events occurred during the period of monitoring. Conversely, PFS rates in MRD-negative patients having no IGHV mutation and in MRD-positive patients with mutation were significantly worse. MRD eradication resulted in statistically significant improvement of PFS rates after completing 3 treatment courses, compared with the cases with MRD persistence regardless of residual malignant clone level (p = 0.01). Conclusion. BR therapy as first-line treatment statistically improved PFS in patients who achieved MRD-negative remission after completing the 3rd treatment course. PFS was significantly higher in MRD-negative patients with IGHV mutation after 6 treatment courses. MRD negativity resulting from 6 BR therapies in patients having no / GHV mutation was not accompanied by PFS improvement. It follows that by itself MRD negativity cannot be considered to be a universal prognostic factor.

Aim: We aimed to understand the biology of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients in Lebanon. Materials & methods: We applied conventional cytogenetic and FISH studies on Lebanese patients diagnosed with CLL and undergoing a watch and wait approach. Results: Our study disclosed 53.6% of patients with aberrant karyotypes among which 26.7% were complex karyotypes. Genetic aberrations included del(13q14) 46.4%, 14q32 translocation in 25%, trisomy 12 in 14.3%, del(17p13) and del(11q22) in 7.1% each. The deletion of 6q21/6q23 was not found in any of our patients. Conclusion: The higher prevalence of del(13q14) as a sole abnormality could be the primary event in inducing CLL. The del(17p13) and del(11q22) followed as potential drivers for progression in CLL patients with a watch and wait approach.

Introduction Ibrutinib, a once-daily oral Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitor, has shown progression-free survival (PFS) or overall-survival (OS) benefit over chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) in multiple phase 3 studies in previously untreated patients with CLL, and significantly longer time to next treatment compared with CIT in previously untreated high-risk patients in a RW setting. We conducted an adjusted comparison of ibrutinib versus RW treatment for previously untreated CLL using patient-level data from the phase 3 RESONATE-2™ (NCT01722487) trial and RW databases from 2 countries. Methods Previously untreated patients with CLL, fulfilling RESONATE-2™ eligibility criteria (age ≥ 65, no del17p) were selected from 2 RW data sources containing electronic medical records for patients with CLL: Centre Hospitalier Lyon-Sud, France; CLLEAR CLL registry from 7 academic centers in the Czech Republic. PFS and OS were compared between patients from the ibrutinib arm of RESONATE-2™ with a median follow-up of 60 months, and those receiving physicians' choice (PC) treatment other than ibrutinib from the RW database, adjusting for differences in baseline characteristics including age, gender, del11q, IGHV status, RAI/BINET disease stage, and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score. Hazard ratios (HRs) for ibrutinib versus RW PC treatment were estimated using a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model including available baseline characteristics as covariates, and using an inverse probability weighted (IPW) Cox model with average treatment effect for treatment (ATT) weights derived from propensity scores estimated from a logistic regression including the same covariates. Results The analysis included 136 patients from the RESONATE-2™ study receiving ibrutinib and 920 previously untreated RW patients receiving PC treatment (Lyon-Sud n = 162, CLLEAR n = 758). Baseline characteristics were generally balanced between treatment groups. The most common PC regimens contained CIT and were fludarabine + cyclophosphamide + rituximab (FCR) (n = 227), bendamustine + rituximab (BR) (n = 201), and rituximab + chlorambucil (R + Chlor) (n = 116). Older age, male gender, del11q and advanced disease stage were independent risk factors for PFS and OS. When comparing ibrutinib versus the overall PC cohort, the adjusted HR (95% confidence interval [CI]) was 0.24 (0.16-0.34) for PFS and 0.33 (0.21-0.52) for OS (both p < 0.0001). IPW-based comparative estimates were highly consistent for both PFS (HR = 0.27 [0.18-0.39]) and OS (HR = 0.39 [0.24-0.62]). ATT-weighted survival curves estimating PFS and OS for the RESONATE-2™ population as if treated with PC, showed a median value of 32.1 months and 72.5 months, respectively, while median values for Ibrutinib were not reached. When comparing ibrutinib versus FCR, BR, and R + Chlor, the adjusted HRs (95% CI) were 0.26 (0.17-0.38), 0.27 (0.18-0.41), and 0.27 (0.17-0.42), respectively, for PFS and 0.34 (0.20-0.56), 0.28 (0.16-0.49), and 0.61 (0.32-1.13), respectively, for OS (Figure). Concl usions Adjusted comparisons of the RESONATE-2™ trial and RW patient-level data demonstrates significantly improved PFS and OS for ibrutinib versus physician's choice treatment (predominantly CIT) in previously untreated patients with CLL. PFS and OS benefit for ibrutinib was consistent across a range of common regimens: FCR, BR, and R + Chlor. These results are consistent with data from phase 3 studies and support the use of ibrutinib for first-line CLL treatment. Funding Source: Sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, and Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company. The RW databases are independently owned. Writing assistance was provided by Emma Fulkes and Liqing Xiao of Parexel and funded by Janssen Pharmaceutica NV. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Doubek: Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Amgen, Gilead, Novartis: Honoraria, Research Funding. Smolej: AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Gilead, Janssen-Cilag, and Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Grants. Šimkovič: AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Janssen-Cilag, Gilead, Roche: Consultancy, Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel Grants. Lysak: Novartis, Janssen-Cilag, AbbVie; AstraZeneca: Honoraria, Research Funding. Bachy: Kite, a Gilead Company: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Daiishi: Research Funding; Roche: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy. Ferrant: AbbVie: Honoraria, Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses; AstraZeneca: Honoraria; Janssen: Other: Travel, Accommodations, Expenses. Diels: Janssen: Current Employment. Cabrieto: Janssen: Current Employment. Nielsen: Janssen: Current Employment. Salles: Allogene: Consultancy; Regeneron: Consultancy, Honoraria; Velosbio: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; Rapt: Consultancy; Genentech/Roche: Consultancy; Epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Debiopharm: Consultancy; Genmab: Consultancy; Incyte: Consultancy; Ipsen: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Kite/Gilead: Consultancy; Loxo: Consultancy; Miltneiy: Consultancy; Morphosys: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy; BMS/Celgene: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; Abbvie: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bayer: Honoraria.

Background: Continuous Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibition represents an effective and easily administered oral therapy for patients with CLL; however, it is not curative, can have serious side effects, and is expensive. Novel combinations may provide deep remissions allowing fixed duration therapy. The second generation BTK inhibitor acalabrutinib (ACALA) has demonstrated an improved safety profile compared to ibrutinib. Importantly, unlike ibrutinib, ACALA does not inhibit anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody dependent cellular phagocytosis (VanDerMeid et al, Cancer Immuno Res 2018). Using standard doses, rituximab (RTX) rapidly exhausts the finite innate immune system cytotoxic capacity (Pinney, et al Blood 2020) and also causes loss of cell membrane CD20 from CLL cells by trogocytosis. Previous studies have shown that high frequency low dose (HFLD) IV RTX (20mg/m 2 three times per week) was effective and limited loss of CD20 (Zent, et al Am J Hematol, 2014). Subcutaneous (SQ) RTX is FDA approved in CLL, has similar efficacy and pharmacokinetics, and can be self-administered. This phase II study tested the efficacy and tolerability of the combination of ACALA and HFLD RTX as initial treatment for patients with treatment-naïve CLL. Methods: Eligible patients were treated with 50mg RTX on day 1 and 3 of each week for six 28-day cycles. The first dose was administered IV over 2 hours. If tolerated, subsequent doses were SQ and could be self-administered at home by trained patients. ACALA 100mg BID therapy was initiated on cycle 1 day 8 for a minimum of 12 cycles. Treatment response was assessed during cycles 12 and 24. Patients achieving an iwCLL complete response (CR) with undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) by 6-color flow cytometry (£ 1:10 -4)at either time point could stop therapy. The primary objective was to determine the rate of iwCLL CR with a secondary endpoint of rate of uMRD. Results: 37 patients have been treated with a median follow-up of 14 months. Baseline demographics were male/female (22/15) and median age 67 years (range 40-78). High-risk genetic features included TP53 mutation (21.6%), del17p (13.5%), del 11q (16.2%), unmutated IGHV (62.2%), NOTCH1 mutation (21.6%) and SF3B1 mutation (10.8%). Grade 3/4 AEs occurring in ≥5% of patients were infections (13.5%), neutropenia (8.1%) and anemia (8.1%). No patients discontinued therapy due to AEs and there were no deaths on treatment. The most common (≥20%) AEs (all grades and all causality) were infusion-related reactions (62.1%), infections (56.8%) (upper respiratory infections in 29.7% of patients, urinary tract infections in 18.9%, COVID-19 pneumonia in 8.1%), fatigue (51.3%), anemia (51.3%), headache (43.2%), rash or other skin changes (32.4%), thrombocytopenia (29.7%), bruising (27.0%), and diarrhea (21.6%). Injection site reactions (8.1%) from SQ RTX were grade 1. Three patients contracted COVID-19 while on study during times of high community transmission prior to the availability of vaccines. Two required hospitalization, one contracted the virus following cycle 1 requiring a delay in RTX, and all patients remained on ACALA while COVID-19 positive. 27 patients have completed 12 cycles and been evaluated for response. All patients responded with 1 MRD+ CR, 20 partial responses (PR), and 6 PR with sustained lymphocytosis. 10 of these patients have completed 24 cycles and had a sustained PR. One patient with del17p and TP53 mutation had progressive disease after 25 cycles of therapy. All other patients remain on treatment per protocol. Conclusion: HFLD RTX and ACALA is a tolerable, effective and convenient therapy that could be the basis for regimens incorporating other novel agents. It is notable that three patients have contracted COVID-19 during the trial; however, none required intubation, and all remained on ACALA during their infection. This at-home combination markedly decreased patient infection risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. This regimen has the potential to enable RTX to be administered at facilities with limited medical IV infusion capacity which could be very useful in rural and economically disadvantaged areas. While all patients have responded to therapy, no patients to date have achieved an uMRD CR, suggesting that additional agents are required to allow for time-limited treatment. Disclosures Baran: AstraZeneca/Acerta: Research Funding. Friedberg: Novartis: Other: DSMC ; Acerta: Other: DSMC ; Bayer: Other: DSMC . Reagan: Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy; Genentech: Research Funding; Seagen: Research Funding; Curis: Consultancy. Casulo: Verastem: Research Funding; Genentech: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Gilead: Research Funding. Zent: TG Therapeutics: Research Funding; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Research Funding. Barr: Morphosys: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; Bristol Meyers Squibb: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy; Beigene: Consultancy; Seattle Genetics: Consultancy; Abbvie/Pharmacyclics: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy.

Introduction: Among the genetic lesions described in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), TP53 and IGHV mutational status are well-established prognostic biomarkers. While mutations resulting in dysregulation of TP53 are associated with chemo-resistance, mutated IGHV (IGHV-M) identifies a good prognosis and unmutated (IGHV-UM) is associated with an aggressive clinical outcome. Thus, molecular assessment of TP53 and IGHV mutational status is recommended to make treatment decisions. Moreover, 30% of CLL patients have a highly homologous complementarity-determining region 3 (CDR3), allowing their classification in subsets based on the stereotypical B-cell receptor immunoglobulins (BcR IG), which have been associated with different clinical features and outcomes. This study aimed to assess the mutational status of TP53 and IGHV and the frequency of stereotypical BcR IG subsets, including CLL#2 and CLL#4 associated with poor and good prognosis, respectively, in a large series of CLL patients in Spain. Methods: Observational, retrospective, cross-sectional, multicentric study of data from the RED53 project, a collaborative network between the Spanish Group of CLL (GELLC) and Janssen for the characterization of TP53 and IGVH mutational status in naïve CLL candidate patients to receive treatment. Blood samples from 225 institutions were collected between May 2016 and March 2021. Included patients had confirmed diagnosis of CLL and required first-line treatment. Basic demographic variables, leukocyte and lymphocyte counts, and the number of clonal CD5 +/CD19 + lymphocytes were recorded at sample extraction. Clonotypic IGHV-IGHD-IGHJ gene rearrangements and exons 4 to 10 of TP53 were amplified by PCR and sequenced (Sanger). Four analytical reference centers qualified by the European Initiative for CLL (ERIC) determined the mutational status following the ERIC guidelines. Results: A total of 1097 samples from patients with a median (range) age of 70.0 (27-97) years were analyzed. At sample extraction, patients had a median (range) of 54.5 (2-516) x10 9 leukocytes/mL and 46.1 (0-8810) x10 9 lymphocytes/mL, of which a median (range) of 80.0 (1-100) % (n=754) were clonal CD5 +/CD19 + lymphocytes. The most frequent indications for treatment initiation were progressive/tumoral adenopathy (n=525, 50.4%), progressive lymphocytosis (n=429, 41.2%), cytopenia (n=369, 35.4%), and systemic constitutional symptoms (n=252, 24.2%). Median (IQR) age was 63.0 (55.0, 71.0) years at diagnosis and 70.0 (62.0, 77.0) years at treatment onset. Median (range) time from diagnosis to treatment was 2.7 (0.6-6.1) years. Among 1097 patients, 100 (9.2%) had TP53 mutations with 103 variants, of which only 3 (3.0%) had 2 mutations. Of the 103 mutations, 91 (88.3%), 9 (8.7%), and 3 (2.9%) were pathogenic, likely pathogenic, and of uncertain significance, respectively. Fig. 1 shows mutation localization and type. IGHV was UM in 58% (471/812) and M in 33.1% (269/812) of patients, and unknown/undetermined in 1.8% (15/812), non-productive in 3.2% (26/812), and borderline in 3.8% (31/812) of patients. IGHV rearrangements were undetected in 25.6% (279/1091) of patients and 65.7% (717/1091), 8.5% (93/1091), and 0.2% (2/1091) had 1, 2, and 3 rearrangements, respectively . Of the 30 patients with IGHV3-21 rearrangements, 18 had available data, of which all had CLL#2 subset and, of the 15 patients with IGHV-M, 5 (33.3%) had CLL#2. Minor subsets were found in 7 (46.7%) and 17 (33.3%) of IGHV-M and UM, respectively. The most frequent stereotyped BcR IG subsets were CLL#2, CLL#1, and CLL#6, in 24.3% (18/74), 23% (17/74), and 10.8% (8/74) of patients, respectively. Among the 60 patients with mutated TP53 and IGHV mutational study available, 66.7% (40/60) had IGHV-UM. Conclusions: In our real-world experience, results regarding TP53 M and IGHV UM (9.2% and 58.0% of patients, respectively) are similar to those reported in previous series of patients requiring first-line treatment, with a slightly higher predominance of IGHV-UM over IGHV-M cases. Subset CLL#2 was the most frequently identified, whereas the frequency of CLL#6 was higher than that reported before. Considering the difficulties associated with the analysis of TP53 and IGHV mutational status of most laboratories diagnosing CLL, the RED53 network allows access to these determinations to naïve CLL patients with active disease by a simple, fast, and standardized method. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Terol: Roche: Consultancy; Gilead: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Research Funding; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Research Funding; Takeda: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel; Abbvie: Consultancy, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel; BMS: Consultancy; Hospital Clinico Valencia: Current Employment. Ferrer Lores: Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees. Bosch: Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel; Janssen: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel, Research Funding; AbbVie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel; Gilead: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel; TAKEDA: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Travel. Gonzalez Diaz: Astra Zeneca: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Lectures; Gilead: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Lectures; Roche: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Lectures; Janssen: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Lectures; Abbvie: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees, Other: Lectures. Crespo: Janssen: Consultancy; Astra Zeneca: Research Funding; Roche/Genentech: Research Funding. Alcoceba: Janssen: Consultancy. Esteve: Janssen: Current Employment. Loriente: Janssen: Current Employment. Villanueva: Janssen: Current Employment.

Background: Novel targeted agents, namely Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKis), B-cell leukemia/lymphoma-2 inhibitors (BCL-2is), and anti-CD20 monoclonal antibodies, have advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) treatment beyond traditional chemoimmunotherapy. While 1-year fixed-duration venetoclax-obinutuzumab (VO) is effective, about 25% of patients do not achieve peripheral blood (PB) undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD). This regimen contains intravenous therapy with obinutuzumab, which presents potential additional toxicities such as infusion reactions and tumor lysis syndrome as well as the potential inconvenience of an intravenous drug. Moreover, patients with higher-risk genomic features such as TP53-aberrant disease or unmutated IGHV have shorter progression-free survival (PFS) than lower-risk cohorts. Whether extending the course of venetoclax beyond 1 year in patients with detectable MRD improves PFS remains unknown. Preclinical data support combining BTKi and BCL-2i, and recent studies with the first-generation BTKi ibrutinib plus venetoclax (IV) have demonstrated deep/durable responses with uMRD rates similar to VO in previously untreated patients with CLL; however, toxicities of this regimen (e.g., cardiac events, neutropenia, etc.) may be challenging, particularly in older patients and those with comorbidities. Acalabrutinib, a highly selective next-generation BTKi, showed an improved safety profile versus ibrutinib in a phase 3 head-to-head trial in relapsed/refractory CLL, and was very effective and well tolerated in a phase 2 study combined with VO. We hypothesize that time-limited doublet therapy with acalabrutinib plus venetoclax (AV) would induce PFS and levels of uMRD similar to those of VO in treatment-naïve (TN) CLL/SLL irrespective of genomic risk features and offer the convenience and favorable tolerability of an all-oral regimen. Moreover, we hypothesize that MRD-guided therapy duration approach will help to define the optimal duration of therapy for both VO and AV. Methods: MAJIC is a phase 3, open-label, randomized, multicenter, global study evaluating AV vs VO in patients aged ≥18 years with TN CLL/SLL. The primary objective of the MAJIC trial is to evaluate investigator-assessed PFS of MRD-guided AV vs MRD-guided VO in a noninferiority design. Key secondary endpoints include uMRD rates at sequential time points, complete and overall response rate, event-free survival, overall survival, quality of life/patient-reported outcomes, and safety. After the screening period, approximately 600 patients will be randomized (1:1, with stratification by age, TP53, and IGHV status) to receive either AV: acalabrutinib (100 mg twice daily with 2 lead-in cycles) then combined with venetoclax introduced at cycle 3 (including dose ramp-up) for 12 cycles, or VO: intravenous obinutuzumab at standard dosing with venetoclax initiated per standard dosing at day 22 cycle 1 (including dose ramp-up) for 6 cycles, followed by 6 cycles of venetoclax monotherapy, for a total of 12 cycles of venetoclax therapy in both arms. Patients with detectable MRD (10 -5 sensitivity by clonoSEQ ® next-generation sequencing) at that time will continue therapy for an additional 12 cycles with either AV (acalabrutinib-containing cohort) or venetoclax monotherapy (for the VO cohort) for a total of 24 months of therapy in both arms, unless they experience progressive disease or unacceptable toxicity. All patients will discontinue study therapy after 24 months, regardless of MRD status at that time point. Response assessments including MRD will occur at the end of 12 months of venetoclax (and 24 months if receiving a second year of therapy) in both arms, and patients with PB uMRD by clonoSEQ at 10 -5 sensitivity at that time point will discontinue therapy. Further correlative studies such as association of baseline genetic markers with clinical outcomes and MRD kinetics will be conducted. Key exclusion criteria are clinically significant cardiovascular disease, history of bleeding diathesis, and history of significant cerebrovascular disease/event. Patient enrollment is to begin at the end of 2021. Summary: This trial in progress is to inform the choice of which of these doublet therapy approaches might be most appropriate for patients with previously untreated CLL/SLL without restriction by genetic background or age. Disclosures Davids: Eli Lilly and Company: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy, Research Funding; Merck: Consultancy; Janssen: Consultancy; MEI Pharma: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy; Surface Oncology: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Verastem: Consultancy, Research Funding; Research to Practice: Consultancy; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy; Takeda: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Astra-Zeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Ascentage Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Celgene: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; MEI Pharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; Novartis: Consultancy, Research Funding. Mato: DTRM BioPharma: Consultancy, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; BeiGene: Consultancy, Research Funding; Genmab: Research Funding; Nurix: Research Funding; Acerta/AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; MSKCC: Current Employment; LOXO: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; Genentech: Consultancy, Research Funding; Janssen: Consultancy, Research Funding; Johnson and Johnson: Consultancy, Research Funding; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy, Research Funding; Sunesis: Consultancy, Research Funding; Adaptive Biotechnologies: Consultancy, Research Funding; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy, Other: DSMB, Research Funding. Hum: AstraZeneca: Current Employment. Wargo: AstraZeneca: Current Employment. Emeribe: AstraZeneca: Current Employment, Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company. Shahkarami: Astrazeneca: Current Employment, Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months. Sokolowski: AbbVie: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company, Divested equity in a private or publicly-traded company in the past 24 months. Biondo: Roche: Current holder of individual stocks in a privately-held company; Genentech, Inc.: Current Employment. Abhyankar: Genentech, Inc: Current Employment; Roche: Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Hermann: AstraZeneca: Current Employment, Current equity holder in publicly-traded company. Sharman: AbbVie: Consultancy; AstraZeneca: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; BMS: Consultancy; Lilly: Consultancy; Centessa: Current holder of stock options in a privately-held company, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Pharmacyclics LLC, an AbbVie Company: Consultancy; TG Therapeutics: Consultancy. OffLabel Disclosure: Investigational study

Background: Despite the efficacy of venetoclax (VEN) in frontline CLL, optimal combination regimens and duration of treatment remain unclear. We hypothesized that cytoreduction with bendamustine/rituximab (BR) induction followed by venetoclax/rituximab (VR) consolidation for a fixed 1-year duration would be associated with an increased rate of undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) compared to historical controls and a reduction in the risk of tumor lysis syndrome (TLS). Here we report data from an ongoing phase 2 multicenter, US, single-arm, open-label study (NCT03609593) designed to assess the safety and efficacy of BR-VR in previously untreated CLL patients (pts). Methods: Previously untreated CLL/SLL pts ≥ 18 years requiring therapy per iwCLL criteria initially received 3 cycles of bendamustine 50-90 mg/m 2 daily for 2 days and rituximab 375 mg/m 2 every 28 days for 3 cycles. Following BR, VEN was initiated with a standard dose escalation from 20 mg to 400 mg daily over 5 weeks. This was followed by 6 cycles of VR with rituximab given monthly and 5 cycles of VEN alone (12 cycles of VEN in total). Additional eligibility included: ECOG PS ≤ 2, hemoglobin ≥8g/dL, ANC ≥1000/mm 3, and platelets ≥50,000/mm 3. Response was assessed by 2018 iwCLL criteria with uMRD testing by central flow cytometry at a level of Results: As of data cutoff on 30 May 2021, 26 pts were accrued with additional recruitment ongoing. Baseline demographics were as follows: male/female (16/10), median age 60 yrs (range 44-77). Baseline prognostic studies showed unmutated IGHV in 16 (62%) pts, TP53 aberrant (either del(17p) and/or TP53 mutation) in 1 (4%) pt, del(11q) in 3 (12%) pts, and complex karyotype in 4 (15%) pts. TLS risk among 24 evaluable pts at baseline was high (H) in 3 (12.5%), medium (M) in 15 (62.5%), and low (L) in 6 (25%). At a median follow-up of 12.9 mo. (range, 1.9-27.5), 23 pts remain on study. Of 12 pts with at least 15 mo. follow-up (completing all therapy), the ORR was 100% (92% CR/CRi, 8% PR [due to small residual nodes]). 3 pts died on study (2 due to COVID-19 and 1 developed newly metastatic squamous cell carcinoma and taken off study after achieving a CR post-VEN ramp-up). Bendamustine was administered at doses of 50 mg/m 2 in 47%, 70 mg/m 2 in 11%, and 90mg/m 2 in 42% of pts. In 20 evaluable pts, response assessments after cytoreduction with BR demonstrated 15% of pts achieved CR/CRi and 85% achieved PR. For evaluable pts at 16 mo., uMRD ( The most common treatment-emergent AEs during BR induction were (any grade/grade ≥3) anemia in 6/2 (21%/7%) pts, nausea in 6/0 (21%/0%), neutropenia in 5/2 (18%/7%), rash in 5/0 (18%/0%), constipation 4/0 (14%/0%), and transaminitis in 3/0 (11%/0%). 2 pts (7%) developed febrile neutropenia during BR. Emergent AEs during VEN treatment included diarrhea in 10/0 (36%/0%) pts, neutropenia in 6/3 (21%/11%), leukopenia in 5/2 (18%/7%), and nausea in 4/0 (14%/0%). TLS risk was substantially reduced after BR lead-in. Of 3 H-risk pts at baseline, none remained H-risk after BR; of 15 M-risk pts, only 1 remained M-risk, with the remainder at L-risk (94% reduction in H- or M- risk TLS). Conclusions: BR-VR is a safe and well-tolerated regimen in untreated CLL pts. BR debulking substantially reduces TLS risk, and this sequential strategy achieves high rates of PB and BM uMRD across all prognostic risk groups. Figure 1 Figure 1. Disclosures Hill: Celgene (BMS): Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AstraZenica: Consultancy, Honoraria; Pfizer: Consultancy, Honoraria; Gentenech: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; AbbVie: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Kite, a Gilead Company: Consultancy, Honoraria, Other: Travel Support, Research Funding; Karyopharm: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Beigene: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Epizyme: Consultancy, Honoraria; Novartis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding; Incyte/Morphysis: Consultancy, Honoraria, Research Funding. Jurcic: AbbVie, BMS/Celgene, Novartis: Consultancy; AbbVie, Arog Pharmaceuticals, Astellas, BMS/Celgene, Forma Therapeutics, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, PTC Therapeutics, Syros Pharmaceuticals: Research Funding. Heaney: CTI: Honoraria, Research Funding; Blueprint: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Sierra Oncology: Research Funding; Cogent: Research Funding; BMS: Research Funding; Kartos: Research Funding. Lamanna: MingSight Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Research Funding; Gilead Sciences, Inc.: Consultancy; AbbVie: Consultancy, Research Funding; AstraZeneca: Consultancy, Research Funding; Juno Therapeutics, Inc.: Research Funding; Oncternal Therapeutics: Research Funding; Celgene Corporation: Consultancy; Genentech, Inc.: Consultancy, Research Funding; Verastem Oncology: Research Funding; TG Therapeutics, Inc: Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Consultancy; BeiGene: Consultancy; Pharmacyclics: Consultancy. OffLabel Disclosure: Venetoclax, Bendamustine, and Rituximab are all FDA approved for use in first-line CLL. The combination of these three agents and dosing schedule utilized in this clinical trial is novel and therefore technically reflects an off-label use.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a common hematological malignancy in adult patients. Infectious complications are frequently observed [1]. In untreated CLL patients, pulmonary complications a...

Purpose: Ibrutinib inhibits Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) by irreversibly binding to the Cys-481 residue in the enzyme. However, ibrutinib also inhibits several other enzymes that contain cysteine residues homologous to Cys-481 in BTK. Patients with relapsed/refractory or previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) demonstrate a high overall response rate to ibrutinib with prolonged survival. Acalabrutinib, a selective BTK inhibitor developed to minimize off-target activity, has shown promising overall response rates in patients with relapsed/refractory CLL. A head-to-head comparison of ibrutinib and acalabrutinib in CLL cell cultures and healthy T cells is needed to understand preclinical biologic and molecular effects. Experimental Design: Using samples from patients with CLL, we compared the effects of both BTK inhibitors on biologic activity, chemokine production, cell migration, BTK phosphorylation, and downstream signaling in primary CLL lymphocytes and on normal T-cell signaling to determine the effects on other kinases. Results: Both BTK inhibitors induced modest cell death accompanied by cleavage of PARP and caspase-3. Production of CCL3 and CCL4 chemokines and pseudoemperipolesis were inhibited by both drugs to a similar degree. These drugs also showed similar inhibitory effects on the phosphorylation of BTK and downstream S6 and ERK kinases. In contrast, off-target effects on SRC-family kinases were more pronounced with ibrutinib than acalabrutinib in healthy T lymphocytes. Conclusions: Both BTK inhibitors show similar biological and molecular profile in primary CLL cells but appear different on their effect on normal T cells. Clin Cancer Res; 23(14); 3734–43. ©2016 AACR.

Introduction Ibrutinib (ibr) monotherapy and the combination of obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil (obi) are approved for previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). No trials directly comparing their efficacy are available. Therefore a matching-adjusted indirect comparison (MAIC) was performed to provide insight into their relative efficacy in terms of progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS). MAIC attempts to adjust for between-trial differences in factors known or suspected to influence treatment effects, to minimize bias. Methods A MAIC within a Bayesian framework was conducted using individual patient data from the RESONATE-2 study of ibr versus chlorambucil and published data from the CLL11 study of obi versus chlorambucil. Both studies were conducted in patients ineligible for full-dose fludarabine-based therapy. After matching, the reweighted adjusted relative efficacy measure of ibr versus chlorambucil from RESONATE-2 [hazard ratio (HR), 95% credible interval (CrI)] was compared with that of obi versus chlorambucil from CLL11 for each endpoint, using a Bayesian indirect comparison. Results Our results suggest that in a population with similar average baseline characteristics to CLL11, ibr would improve PFS and OS outcomes compared to obi. Before matching, the HRs for ibr versus obi were 0.48 [CrI = 0.22–1.02, p(HR

Context Acalabrutinib is a next-generation Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi) approved in patients with relapsed/refractory or treatment-naive (TN) CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma based on two phase 3 trials (ASCEND and ELEVATE-TN). Combining a BTKi with an anti-CD20 antibody (obinutuzumab [obi]) and a BCL-2 inhibitor (venetoclax [ven]) has the potential to achieve deeper responses and prolong progression-free survival (PFS). Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of acalabrutinib in combination with ven ± obi vs chemoimmunotherapy (CIT) in TN CLL. Design Phase 3, randomized (1:1:1), open-label trial (ACE-CL-311; NCT03836261). Setting Global, multicenter study. Patients Adult patients with untreated CLL without del(17p) or TP53 mutation. Interventions Patients are randomized to receive oral acalabrutinib 100 mg BID (28-day cycles, up to 14 cycles) + oral ven QD (cycles 3–4; ramp-up followed by 400 mg/day) (Arm A), acalabrutinib + ven + infusion of obi (cycles 2–7) (Arm B), or CIT (Arm C: up to 6 cycles of fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/rituximab [only in patients aged ≤65 years] or bendamustine/rituximab [BR]). Main outcome measures ACE-CL-311 began in February 2019 and is currently recruiting (target enrollment: 780 patients, >200 sites). Patients must have an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status ≤2, fulfill International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia 2018 criteria for CLL diagnosis and treatment, and adequate organ function. Key exclusion criteria include stroke or intracranial hemorrhage, significant cardiovascular disease, bleeding disorders, or required treatment with warfarin or equivalent vitamin K antagonists or a strong cytochrome P450 inhibitor. Patients will be evaluated for efficacy and observed until progressive disease. Primary efficacy endpoint is independent review committee (IRC)-assessed PFS (Arm A vs C). Secondary efficacy endpoints include IRC- and investigator-assessed PFS, undetectable minimal residual disease rates, objective response rate, event-free survival, duration of response, time to next therapy, and overall survival. Safety objectives include incidence and severity of adverse events. Patients will be stratified based on age (>65 vs ≤65 years), immunoglobulin heavy chain variable region mutational status, Rai stage risk (≥3 vs Results Trial in progress. Conclusion Study is currently recruiting.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is rarely reported to occur in treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL). In this article, we report a woman in her 70s, diagnosed with CLL/SLL in 2000, untreated, who subsequently presented 12 years later with de novo CML, BCR-ABL1+. Her IGHV mutated CLL/SLL based on the initial sample in our laboratory showed homozygous and heterozygous 13q14.3 deletions, whereas her CML, at presentation, showed a 46,XX,t(9;22)(q34;q11.2)[7]/46,XX[18] karyotype with a p190 BCR-ABL1 transcript. The tumor burden of each clone varied with treatment, including when treated with dasatinib, used to target both clones. In addition, the cytogenetic abnormalities evolved over time and treatments and included acquisition of an extra chromosome 8 in the CML clone and a novel K1992T ATM missense mutation (47% allele frequency) in the CLL/SLL clone. The patient’s last bone marrow biopsy, 5 years after her CML diagnosis and 17 years after the CLL/SLL diagnosis, showed residual CML with extensive involvement by CLL/SLL (80%). Cytogenetic studies showed a 46,XX karyotype, while FISH identified 13q14.3 deletion and the BCR-ABL1 translocation in the CLL/SLL and CML clones, respectively. To date, this is the fourth case of concurrent CML, BCR-ABL1+ arising in untreated CLL/SLL. Here we show dynamic variation in the size of the 2 clonal processes reflecting the variable responsiveness to specific therapies. In addition to the unusual BCR-ABL1+ p190 transcript in the patient’s CML, a novel ATM K1992T mutation was identified in the CLL/SLL population.

Venetoclax in combination with obinutuzumab is an efficacious and tolerable combination that provides a fixed-duration, chemotherapy-free option for patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). With the expanding number of therapeutic alternatives available for CLL, discussion of efficacy and potential adverse effects is paramount to formulating the optimal treatment regimen for each individual patient. Many ongoing studies will further define the ideal combination and long-term efficacy of these novel therapies in a prospective manner.

Age-related genetic changes in lymphocyte subsets are not currently well documented. BACH2 is a transcription factor that plays an important role in immune-mediated homeostasis by tightly regulating PRDM1 expression in both B-cells and T-cells. BACH2 gene expression is highly sensitive to DNA damage in aged mice. This concept led us to investigate the variation in BACH2 and also PRDM1 expression in major lymphocyte subsets with age., info:eu-repo/semantics/published

BACKGROUND: Ibrutinib has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) since 2016 but has not been compared with chemoimmunotherapy. We conducted a phase 3 trial to evaluate the efficacy of ibrutinib, either alone or in combination with rituximab, relative to chemoimmunotherapy. METHODS: Patients 65 years of age or older who had untreated CLL were randomly assigned to receive bendamustine plus rituximab, ibrutinib, or ibrutinib plus rituximab. The primary end point was progression-free survival. The Alliance Data and Safety Monitoring Board made the decision to release the data after the protocol-specified efficacy threshold had been met. RESULTS: A total of 183 patients were assigned to receive bendamustine plus rituximab, 182 to receive ibrutinib, and 182 to receive ibrutinib plus rituximab. Median progression-free survival was reached only with bendamustine plus rituximab. The estimated percentage of patients with progression-free survival at 2 years was 74% with bendamustine plus rituximab and was higher with ibrutinib alone (87%; hazard ratio for disease progression or death, 0.39; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.26 to 0.58; P

BACKGROUND: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is characterized by a lower incidence rate in Iraq and Kurdistan as compared to Western countries. However, a good prognosis of CLL is dependable on diagnosis, risk stratification, and a better choice of an appropriate treatment regimen. AIM OF THE STUDY: To evaluate the effectiveness of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) regimen in comparison to other chemotherapy regimens in the management of patients with CLL in Kurdistan region/Iraq. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective review study carried out in three cancer centers in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for the duration of 10 years through the period from January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2019, on 152 CLL patients. CLL was diagnosed according to the International Workshop on CLL. The treatment of CLL patients was either by FCR chemo-immunotherapy regimen or other chemotherapies. RESULTS: The FCR chemo-immunotherapy was the treatment of 38.8% of CLL patients, while 61.2% of CLL patients were treated by other chemotherapies. There was a significant association between younger age patients and the use FCR chemo-immunotherapy (P = 0.001). There was a significant association between a complete response and treatment by FCR chemo-immunotherapy (P = 0.02). The mean overall survival duration and progression-free survival of CLL patients treated by FCR chemo-immunotherapy were significantly longer than the mean survival time of CLL patients treated by other chemotherapies (P = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Complete response and survival of CLL patients treated by FCR chemo-immunotherapy were better than the complete response and survival of CLL patients treated by other chemotherapies.

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) primarily affects older patients, and is frequently characterized by a prolonged asymptomatic phase managed by watchful waiting. Complications of CLL have been described primarily in the context of advanced disease following chemotherapy.[1][1] By contrast, little

Despite the recent advances in treatment of CLL with targeted agents such as ibrutinib, availability of nonchemotherapy based therapies is desired. Given the 58% response rate (1996 NCI-WG criteria) of single agent ofatumumab in CLL refractory to fludarabine and alemtuzumab, we initiated a phase II trial examining response, safety, and progression-free survival (PFS) of ofatumumab as front-line monotherapy. Patients enrolled included untreated, symptomatic CLL patients over the age of 65 or those who were inappropriate/did not desire chemotherapy. Two cohorts were enrolled sequentially examining either 1 g (33 patients) or 2 g (44 patients) weekly for 8 weeks followed by maintenance dosing every 2 months for a total of 24 months. Patients receiving 1 g were older than those receiving 2 g, but there were no significant differences in other clinical characteristics. The best overall response rates in the 1 and 2 g patient cohorts were 72 and 89% (1996 NCI-WG criteria), respectively (54 and 68%, respectively, using 2008 IWCLL criteria). All but two responses were partial. The 24-month estimated PFS rates were 46 and 78%, respectively. Response and PFS was lower in del(17p) and del(11q) CLL patients. Differences in PFS between dose cohorts were statistically significant and remained so when adjusting for age or high-risk cytogenetics. Toxicity of this treatment was mild with only six patients not completing therapy due to toxicity. Ofatumumab induction followed by maintenance therapy in untreated CLL represents a well-tolerated and active regimen, particularly with the 2 g of ofatumumab. Am. J. Hematol. 91:1020-1025, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Objectives To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of treatment with anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody obinutuzumab plus chlorambucil (GClb) in untreated patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia unsuitable for full-dose fludarabine-based therapy. Methods A Markov model was used to assess the cost-effectiveness of GClb versus other chemoimmunotherapy options. The model comprised three mutually exclusive health states: "progression-free survival (with/without therapy)", "progression (refractory/relapsed lines)", and "death". Each state was assigned a health utility value representing patients' quality of life and a specific cost value. Comparisons between GClb and rituximab plus chlorambucil or only chlorambucil were performed using patient-level clinical trial data; other comparisons were performed via a network meta-analysis using information gathered in a systematic literature review. To support the model, a utility elicitation study was conducted from the perspective of the UK National Health Service. Results There was good agreement between the model-predicted progression-free and overall survival and that from the CLL11 trial. On incorporating data from the indirect treatment comparisons, it was found that GClb was cost-effective with a range of incremental cost-effectiveness ratios below a threshold of £30,000 per quality-adjusted life-year gained, and remained so during deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses under various scenarios. Conclusions GClb was estimated to increase both quality-adjusted life expectancy and treatment costs compared with several commonly used therapies, with incremental cost-effectiveness ratios below commonly referenced UK thresholds. This article offers a real example of how to combine direct and indirect evidence in a cost-effectiveness analysis of oncology drugs.

Obinutuzumab is a novel glycoengineered type II anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (MoAb) with a higher affinity for CD20 epitope. It was approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in November 2013 for use in combination with chlorambucil for previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).This article evaluates the safety of obinutuzumab in CLL patients, also addressing pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD), clinical use and efficacy. Moreover, a comparison with other anti-CD20 MoAb is performed. The principal available studies on obinutuzumab are reviewed, focusing on CLL. A PubMed literature search (August 2002 to September 2015) was conducted using the terms obinutuzumab, GA101, anti-CD20 antibody, and CLL.Obinutuzumab, a third-generation anti-CD20 MoAb, is a safe and effective treatment for elderly patients who are un-fit for fludarabine-based regimen. Its use, proven in the CLL11 study and the results of many ongoing trials evaluating other obinutuzumab-based regimen can lead obinutuzumab to be a candidate to replace rituximab as the first-line treatment option.

Ibrutinib, a first-in-class, once-daily inhibitor of Bruton’s tyrosine kinase, is indicated by the US FDA for the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma (CLL/SLL) and allows for treatment without chemotherapy. This broad approval, including treatment-na