A new analysis of real-world survival data found no significant differences in overall survival between patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL) who have high-risk cytogenetic factors and those who do not.
The study, published in Blood Advances, included 1,242 patients who received single-agent first-line ibrutinib therapy. Most of the patients had high-risk cases, but the researchers found that those with high-risk features did not have a poorer survival rate compared to those without them.
In fact, the study’s findings offer additional support for the use of ibrutinib as a first-line therapy in this patient group. The results also showed that sensitivity analyses excluding specific cytogenetic abnormalities still yielded similar outcomes.
The study’s authors noted several limitations, including potential errors or missing information due to the use of electronic health records and limited data on progression-free survival. However, they concluded that their findings bolster the existing evidence supporting single-agent ibrutinib as an effective option for patients with CLL/SLL, regardless of cytogenetic risk factors.
The analysis built upon previous studies showing that ibrutinib significantly improves overall survival in patients with CLL/SLL compared to the previous standard treatment of chemoimmunotherapy. The study’s findings provide further insight into the real-world effectiveness of ibrutinib in this patient population.
Source: https://www.ajmc.com/view/first-line-ibrutinib-effective-in-cll-sll-with-or-without-risk-factors