Martin Dreyling, MD, Professor of Medicine at Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and Coordinator of the European Mantle Cell Lymphoma Network, commented on the data emerging for ibrutinib in lymphoma. “Ibrutinib is the molecule of the year at ASH,” he told The ASCO Post.

“With other molecular compounds in relapsed mantle cell lymphoma, the response rate is about 30%. With lenalidomide (Revlimid), bortezomib (Velcade), and temsirolimus (Torisel), we see median progression-free survival rates of around 6 months. In contrast, in this phase II study (PCYC-1104-CA), ibrutinib achieved an overall response rate of about 70%, and more than 20% of patients had complete responses, which increased over time. The difference in response is outrageous,” he said.

As for ibrutinib in relapsed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Dr. Dreyling said the drug’s performance was “not overwhelmingly impressive” in the group as a whole. However, the response rate doubled in the activated B-cell subtype, for a rate of 41% that “has never been achieved with monotherapy thus far.”

“Inhibition of the B-cell receptor pathway is a revolution. It will change our understanding of how to treat lymphomas,” Dr. Dreyling concluded. ■

Disclosure: Dr. Dreyling reported no potential conflicts of interest.