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Targeted Therapies
Most new “small molecules” can be taken by mouth. Many work by blocking pathways that the cancer cells have pirated and become addicted to such as signaling pathways. Examples include ibrutinib, acalabrutinib, duvelisib and others. Others, such as venetoclax, remove blockades that the cancer has created which prevent natural cell death. These therapies target the cancer and spare most healthy cells.
ARTICLES ON TARGETED THERAPIES
The majority of CLL patients who had previously relapsed on covalent BTK inhibitors responded well to pirtobrutinib therapy.
Patients with relapsed/refractory CLL / SLL treated with zanubrutinib had longer remissions than patients treated with ibrutinib.
Venetoclax is an effective treatment for CLL patients with no prior exposure to BTK inhibitors, but less effective for patients who have progressed on a BTK.
A newly published paper in Clinical Cancer Research found that when patients successfully treated with fixed-duration ibrutinib-venetoclax developed progressive disease, they had no acquired resistance mutations in BTK, BCL2, or PLCG2.
Mutations at BTK C481 are the most common mutations seen in pooled trial data of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients on ibrutinib, leading to resistance and progressive disease (PD).
A newly published paper in JAMA Oncology found that among cancer patients with suspected ibrutinib-related cardiotoxic effects, the presence of heart muscle injury and scarring is high, and this is associated with an increased risk of developing future cardiovascular adverse events.
RECENT NEWS
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