Ibrutinib: better combined with other drugs?

There have recently been an unprecedented number of reports of novel, highly effective drugs for relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). 1 Byrd JC Furman RR Coutre SE et al. Targeting BTK with ibrutinib in relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2013; 369: 32-42 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1729) Google Scholar , 2 Brown JR Byrd JC Coutre SE et al. Idelalisib, an inhibitor of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase p110delta, for relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Blood. 2014; 123: 3390-3397 Crossref PubMed Scopus (523) Google Scholar , 3 Byrd JC Brown JR O'Brien S et al. Ibrutinib versus ofatumumab in previously treated chronic lymphoid leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2014; 371: 213-223 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1224) Google Scholar , 4 Furman RR Sharman JP Coutre SE et al. Idelalisib and rituximab in relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia. N Engl J Med. 2014; 370: 997-1007 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1362) Google Scholar These new drugs are the result of a decade of improvements in our understanding of the pathogenesis of CLL, culminating in the development of new targeted treatments. These drugs include first-in-class, orally available compounds like idelalisib (a PI3Kδ inhibitor) and ibrutinib (a BTK inhibitor), both recently registered in the USA for previously treated patients with CLL, and recommended for approval by the European Medicines Agency. Safety and activity of ibrutinib plus rituximab for patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a single-arm, phase 2 studyThe encouraging safety and activity of ibrutinib and rituximab in this population of patients with high-risk CLL merits further investigation of this combination. Full-Text PDF