CHICAGO – For the first time an oral drug, ibrutinib, has been shown to significantly improve both progression-free and overall survival of patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia, compared with a systemic agent.
We interviewed lead author Dr. John Byrd about the first interim analysis from RESONATE, a phase III randomized trial, comparing ibrutinib with ofatumumab for the treatment of relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. The analysis showed that 1-year overall survival for patients with previously treated chronic lymphocytic leukemia or small lymphocytic lymphoma assigned to receive ibrutinib (Imbruvica) was 90%, compared with 81% for patients assigned to ofatumumab (Arzerra).
Dr. Byrd is professor of medicine at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, Columbus. The study was supported by Pharmacyclics. Dr. Byrd disclosed receiving research funding and serving as an unpaid advisor to the company.