Sameem Abedin, MD, assistant professor, Medical College of Wisconsin, discusses the role of venetoclax (Venclexta) plus obinutuzumab (Gazyva) in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

In May 2019, the FDA approved the combination of venetoclax and obinutuzumab for the frontline treatment of patients with CLL or small lymphocytic lymphoma. This is great for patients, Abedin says, mainly because frontline ibrutinib (Imbruvica)-based regimens can be toxic. The BTK inhibitor can cause bleeding, nausea, and atrial fibrillation, so having an alternative in the frontline setting is important.

However, there are more data supporting the use of ibrutinib in this setting, Abedin notes. Two randomized trials have compared ibrutinib with the previous standard of care, and there are more follow-up data with the drug as opposed to the newly approved venetoclax/obinutuzumab combination. The current data with the novel combination show promising response rates and depth of response, Abedin concludes.