A new international study has found that a simple tablet treatment could improve survival rates for people with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a common type of blood cancer.
The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, suggests that this tablet-based approach could replace traditional chemotherapy, offering a more effective and convenient treatment option.
A Major Study with Promising Results
The study, called the AMPLIFY clinical trial, involved more than 800 patients with CLL from 27 countries. These patients had never received treatment before. Researchers compared the standard chemotherapy treatment (which includes immunotherapy with rituximab) to a new all-tablet combination of targeted therapies.
The results were clear: the new treatment significantly improved progression-free survival—meaning patients lived longer without their cancer getting worse—compared to chemotherapy.
Why This Is a Big Deal
The standard treatment for CLL requires hospital visits for chemotherapy infusions, which can take hours and come with serious side effects, such as long-term immune system suppression. In contrast, the new approach uses oral medications, meaning patients only need to take tablets at home instead of spending time in the hospital.
Professor John Seymour, Director of Hematology at Peter MacCallum Cancer Center and Royal Melbourne Hospital, highlighted the advantages:
- The all-tablet treatment worked better than chemotherapy.
- Patients taking the new tablets had significantly higher survival rates after three years.
- The treatment was safer, with fewer heart complications than previous tablet-based CLL treatments.
A Safer Alternative to Existing Tablet Treatments
Another tablet-based CLL treatment, using a drug called ibrutinib, was previously approved in Australia. However, ibrutinib carries a higher risk of heart complications. The new combination—acalabrutinib and venetoclax (with or without an additional drug called obinutuzumab)—appears to be much safer.
A Breakthrough for Hard-to-Treat Patients
The study also looked at patients with a specific genetic profile called “uIGHV”, which usually leads to worse outcomes compared to those with a “mutated IGHV” profile. However, the new treatment helped both groups equally, showing that even those with harder-to-treat forms of CLL can benefit from this therapy.
Adding obinutuzumab to the treatment helped further improve survival rates for uIGHV patients, making the treatment even more effective.
What This Means for Patients
Professor Seymour called the findings “wonderful news” for patients who are fit enough for treatment but have not yet received any. Once this new tablet combination gets approved for funding in Australia, doctors hope to offer it as a standard treatment.
“This approach will reduce the burden of therapy,” Seymour said, “allowing patients to manage their treatment at homeinstead of spending time in hospitals for chemotherapy.”
CLL: The Most Common Type of Leukemia in Australia
CLL affects white blood cells and is the most common leukemia in Australia, with about 1,000 new cases diagnosed each year. These new study results were also shared at the American Society of Hematology meeting in San Diego last year, reinforcing the global importance of this breakthrough.
With its higher survival rates, fewer side effects, and tablet-only convenience, this new treatment could soon change the way CLL is treated, offering hope and a better quality of life for many patients.
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The research findings can be found in New England Journal of Medicine.
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