Anthony R. Mato, MD, MSCE, discusses important questions in treating Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), including the advances in CLL therapy in the context of presentations from the 2016 American Society of Hematology meeting. Among the questions Dr. Mato considers are the potential for a cure of CLL through combined chemotherapy/immunotherapy; chemotherapy diminution without compromise in efficacy; the extension of progression-free survival with lenalidomide; and the role of chemotherapy as a backbone for therapy in an environment increasingly oriented toward targeted therapies. Agents and therapies reviewed include:

*fludarabine/cyclophosphamide/rituxumab (FCR) for mutated IGHV, non del17p patients
*idelalisib/bendamustine/rituximab for relapsed-refractory CLL
*lenalidomide for frontline and second-line therapy
*ubituximabGR-1202 in treatment naïve or previously treated CLL

Related Links

• Clinical Briefing: Enrolling Clinical Trials: Adoptive Immunotherapy for Chemotherapy Resistant or Refractory CD­19+ Leukemia and Lymphoma
• Case Study: A 65­year­old male with refractory CLL and a white count of 30,000 with extensive marrow infiltration and diffuse adenopathy receives CTL­019 therapy at Penn.
• Dr. Mato’s Profile