Bita Fakhri, MD, MPH

Moderator of the session on the CLL2-GIVe regimen, Bita Fakhri, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor of Medicine at Stanford Medicine, California, said that findings from the ongoing, phase III CLL13 trial will ultimately determine which regimen is appropriate for patients with high-risk chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). However, Dr. Fakhri told The ASCO Post that the addition of an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody to venetoclax and ibrutinib may be unnecessary.

“We need longer follow-up data to determine whether adding a CD20 monoclonal antibody will result in deeper, more durable molecular remissions and potentially translate into more prolonged progression-free survival,” said Dr. Fakhri. “I’m not convinced that the addition of obinutuzumab, for example, is going to change overall survival outcomes. We need more time to figure that out.” 

DISCLOSURE: Dr. Fakhri reported financial relationships with AbbVie, AstraZeneca, CSL Behring, Loxo@Lilly, Juno, and Angiocrine Bioscience.