On June 25th, as part of HealthTree’s CLL Webinar Program, CLL specialist Kerry Rogers, M.D., from OSUCCC-James shared insight about the treatment options available to CLL patients whose disease was not responsive to venetoclax and covalent BTK inhibitors. Watch the event's recording below or read the summary.
Relapse refers to CLL returning after the patient finishes treatment and experiences a period of remission over six months. Remission means the disease signs and symptoms were either partially or fully reduced. CLL patients usually experience up to several years of remission after taking the fixed-duration treatment combination of venetoclax (Venclexta, AbbVie) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva, Genentech).
Refractory means that CLL became resistant to treatment or came back within six months after finishing therapy. Refractory CLL is observed in patients who take covalent BTK inhibitors continuously over several years, such as ibrutinib (Imbruvica, Janssen Biotech), acalabrutinib (Calquence, AstraZeneca), and zanubrutinib (Brukinsa, BeiGene). CLL patients may also become refractory to venetoclax.
As of 2024, CLL is not considered to be curable. Relapsed and refractory CLL are the expected evolution of the disease. CLL needs long-term management with multiple lines of therapy during a patient’s life.
If CLL patients cannot take venetoclax or covalent BTK inhibitors either from intolerance to side effects or because CLL cells have become refractory to the medicines, other treatment options are needed to continue limiting the progression of the disease. Dr. Rogers mentioned several new medicines for this patient group. These include:
During the event, Dr. Rogers answered several patient questions. Some of these included:
To listen to these questions’ answers in the event’s recording, please click the timestamp links.
We invite you to click the button below to subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest advancements in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and register for our next webinar!
On June 25th, as part of HealthTree’s CLL Webinar Program, CLL specialist Kerry Rogers, M.D., from OSUCCC-James shared insight about the treatment options available to CLL patients whose disease was not responsive to venetoclax and covalent BTK inhibitors. Watch the event's recording below or read the summary.
Relapse refers to CLL returning after the patient finishes treatment and experiences a period of remission over six months. Remission means the disease signs and symptoms were either partially or fully reduced. CLL patients usually experience up to several years of remission after taking the fixed-duration treatment combination of venetoclax (Venclexta, AbbVie) and obinutuzumab (Gazyva, Genentech).
Refractory means that CLL became resistant to treatment or came back within six months after finishing therapy. Refractory CLL is observed in patients who take covalent BTK inhibitors continuously over several years, such as ibrutinib (Imbruvica, Janssen Biotech), acalabrutinib (Calquence, AstraZeneca), and zanubrutinib (Brukinsa, BeiGene). CLL patients may also become refractory to venetoclax.
As of 2024, CLL is not considered to be curable. Relapsed and refractory CLL are the expected evolution of the disease. CLL needs long-term management with multiple lines of therapy during a patient’s life.
If CLL patients cannot take venetoclax or covalent BTK inhibitors either from intolerance to side effects or because CLL cells have become refractory to the medicines, other treatment options are needed to continue limiting the progression of the disease. Dr. Rogers mentioned several new medicines for this patient group. These include:
During the event, Dr. Rogers answered several patient questions. Some of these included:
To listen to these questions’ answers in the event’s recording, please click the timestamp links.
We invite you to click the button below to subscribe to our newsletter and stay updated on the latest advancements in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and register for our next webinar!
about the author
Megan Heaps
Megan joined HealthTree in 2022. As a writer and the daughter of a blood cancer patient, she is dedicated to helping patients and their caregivers understand the various aspects of their disease. This understanding enables them to better advocate for themselves and improve their treatment outcomes. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time with her family.
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