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Targeted Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL)

  • Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemias (N Jain, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Hematologic Malignancy Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The standard of care for the treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has traditionally been chemoimmunotherapy. For patients who are unable to tolerate chemotherapy and those with high risk 17p deletions, there were previously few feasible or efficacious treatment options. Novel targeted agents for the treatment of CLL have the potential to offer long-term, durable remissions and offer promising treatment options for those in previously challenging population groups. Current targeted agents in CLL are directed against B cell receptor-associated tyrosine kinases such as BTK and SYK, the downstream PI3-kinase pathway, as well as the antiapoptotic protein BCL-2. The optimal sequencing of these agents has yet to be determined, although the side effect profile differs significantly and may dictate choice of therapy until further randomized data becomes available.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 676 N. St Clair, Suite 850, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Erin M. Pettijohn

  2. Division of Hematology/Oncology, Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, 303 E Superior St, Lurie 3-103, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA

    Shuo Ma

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  1. Erin M. Pettijohn
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Correspondence to Shuo Ma.

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Erin M. Pettijohn declares no potential conflicts of interest.

Shuo Ma reports grants and personal fees from Pharmacyclics, Abbvie, Gilead, Novartis, and Genetech and grants from Acerta and Xerne.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemias

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Pettijohn, E.M., Ma, S. Targeted Therapy in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Curr Hematol Malig Rep 12, 20–28 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-017-0358-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11899-017-0358-1

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