Overview 

Treatments for chronic lymphocytic leukemia are usually classified as fixed-duration or continuous-duration therapies. 

Fixed-duration therapies are administered over a set period and then discontinued, meaning the patient receives them only for a predesignated period. Because most people with CLL achieve remission from fixed-duration therapies, this time-limited approach allows patients to have a treatment break until new therapy is needed.

In this guide section, you'll learn how fixed-duration therapies work and about their common side effects. 

Current FDA-approved fixed-duration CLL therapies include:

• A combination of venetoclax (Venclexta, AbbVie) with obinutuzumab (Gazyva, Genentech) for one year.
• Venetoclax in combination with rituximab (Rituxan, Genentech) as a second or subsequent line of therapy for two years.
• CAR T-cell therapy liso-cel (Breyanzi, BMS) as a third-line treatment administered as a one-time infusion. Although CAR T-cell therapy is not often referred to as a fixed-duration treatment, the one-time infusion therapy will be grouped in this section of the guide.