“Combination Therapy for Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: More Effective with Fewer Side Effects”

2023-05-17 08:54:28

Combination therapy works better and has fewer side effects

Vienna (OTS) – Significant progress in the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) was identified in a current study involving MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital. The results of the randomized phase III study CLL13 (GAIA) show that a temporary and targeted therapy with the drugs venetoclax and obinutuzumab in patients without comorbidities leads to convincing results and is more effective than chemoimmunotherapy. The findings have the potential to revolutionize the standard of care for CLL patients and offer them a better quality of life. The study, which researchers from MedUni Vienna were involved in planning and conducting, was published in the renowned journal “The New England Journal of Medicine”.

Many of the 926 CLL patients in Austria were also able to take part in the independent study under the coordination of Philipp Staber from the Department of Hematology and Haematoseology of the University Department of Internal Medicine I of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital and benefit from the results . In Austria, patients were included not only at the University Hospital AKH Vienna but also at the Hanusch Hospital Vienna. Philipp Staber, member of the Comprehensive Cancer Center Vienna of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital, emphasizes the clear advantage of the combination therapy of the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax and the anti-CD20 antibody obinutuzumab: “The therapy leads to a such a strong reduction in CLL cells that they can no longer be detected in the patient’s blood (MRD negativity), and enables long-lasting freedom from disease. In addition, there are fewer side effects compared to chemoimmunotherapy.”

New standard for CLL patients

The study also looked at whether additional treatment with the drug ibrutinib would bring additional benefits. However, this more intensive treatment led to an increased number of side effects without any additional benefit for the patients. Based on the results of the study, the study authors now recommend the combination therapy of obinutuzumab and venetoclax as the new standard for fit CLL patients, regardless of their age.

“This is a major advance in the treatment of CLL and offers hope for affected patients. This targeted therapy has the potential to improve patients’ quality of life and enable them to be free of illness and therapy for longer,” says Philipp Staber, who, together with Ulrich Jäger from the Department of Internal Medicine I of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital as a member of the strategy commission was also involved in the study planning.

Publikation: The New England Journal of Medicine
First-Line Venetoclax Combinations in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Barbara Eichhorst, Carsten U. Niemann, Arnon P. Kater, Moritz Fürstenau, Julia von Tresckow, Can Zhang, Sandra Robrecht, Michael Gregor, Gunnar Juliusson, Patrick Thornton, Philipp B. Staber, Tamar Tadmor, et.al., for the GCLLSG, the HOVON and Nordic CLL Study Groups, the SAKK, the Israeli CLL Association, and Cancer Trials Ireland
N Engl J Med 2023; 388:1739-1754
DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2213093

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