How Effective is Venetoclax Retreatment?

Venetoclax Retreatment Response for CLL

If your first treatment was venetoclax in combination with a monoclonal antibody, you may wonder if venetoclax can be used again to treat CLL. 

In a 2022 study, researchers explored the outcomes of retreating people with CLL with venetoclax. The data below is a combination of patients treated with venetoclax plus a monoclonal antibody (obinutuzumab/rituximab) or venetoclax alone. 

Response Type	Efficacy
Average time of progression-free survival after retreatment	2.1 years
The percentage of patients who experienced undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) after finishing retreatment	41.7%
Percentage of patients who experienced a complete response (two months after retreatment, patients' blood counts returned to normal, and the spleen and lymph nodes were not enlarged)	33.3%
Percentage of patients who experienced a partial response (CLL cells were partially reduced) after retreatment	46.2%
Percentage of patients who experienced stable disease (CLL remained the same despite retreatment)	18.0%
Progressive disease (CLL advanced despite retreatment)	2.6%

 

Retreatment with venetoclax shows a lower rate of response and shorter time controlled than what is seen when venetoclax is used as a first-time treatment. 

If CLL comes back less than a year after your first venetoclax treatment, CLL specialists recommend other treatments, such as a BTK inhibitor, rather than being treated again with the same therapy. 

Financial Resources for Venetoclax

Click here to locate financial resources for venetoclax. For additional resources, click here to visit the financial support section of the guide.