Highlights in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)

In this daily highlights video from ASH 2024, Dr Lucrecia Yanez San Segundo, a haematologist at Hospital Universitario Marqués de Valdecilla (IDIVAL), Santander, Spain, summarised key findings from the oral session on CLL, which she co-chaired at ASH.

Patients with R/R CLL who have failed both BTK and BCL-2 inhibitor therapies face limited options, highlighting the need for novel treatments. 

Two studies on BTK degraders were presented, showing encouraging safety profiles with four to seven months of follow-up, though longer-term data are needed. 

The phase 1/2 Transcend CLL 004 study demonstrated that liso-cel combined with ibrutinib achieved deep remissions with manageable safety in R/R CLL/SLL.

Epcoritamab, a CD3xCD20 bispecific antibody, showed promising efficacy as a single agent in R/R CLL and Richter’s syndrome, with updated data from the EPCORE CLL-1 trial expansion and optimisation cohorts presented. 

Finally, the BRUIN CLL-321 trial, the first randomised study in BTK inhibitor-pretreated CLL/SLL patients, showed significant PFS improvement with pirtobrutinib compared to investigator’s choice with a favourable safety profile in this heavily pretreated, high-risk population.