A head-to-head clinical trial in patients with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) has found that zanubrutinib, a next-generation BTK inhibitor, was more effective at preventing disease progression and better tolerated than ibrutinib, the first-generation BTK inhibitor that is the current standard treatment in that setting. The phase 3 ALPINE randomized trial had previously shown that zanubrutinib achieved a better overall response rate (ORR) than ibrutinib. The new ALPINE results, presented by Jennifer R. Brown, MD, PhD, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in a late-breaking oral session at the 64th American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting in New Orleans, show that zanubrutinib-treated patients had a longer progression-free survival (PFS) at 29.6 months follow-up. The two-year landmark PFS for zanubrutinib was 79.5%, compared to 67.3% for ibrutinib. Median PFS for zanubrutinib had not been reached at that point, while for ibrutinib the median PFS was 35.0 months.
