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Final phase 2 study results of acalabrutinib in treatment-naive and relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Furman RR, Wierda WG, Patten PEM, Chaves JM, Brown JR, Munir T, Martin P, Awan FT et al.

Blood advances, 2026

99 participants

Abstract

Abstract: Acalabrutinib is a selective, covalent Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor approved for marketing in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)/small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL). We report final, long-term phase 1/2 study results in 99 patients with treatment-naive (TN) and 134 with relapsed/refractory (R/R) CLL/SLL. At final data cutoff, 71% and 31% of patients in the TN and R/R cohorts, respectively, remained on acalabrutinib treatment (median follow-up of 73.7 and 52.6 months). Among the events of clinical interest (any grade) in the TN and R/R cohorts, atrial fibrillation was reported in 6.1% and 9.0%, hypertension in 29.3% and 23.1%, other malignancies (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer) in 14.1% and 17.2%, and major bleeding in 8.1% and 8.2% of patients, respectively. The incidence of the most common adverse events decreased over time. Overall response rates were 97.0% and 94.8% in the TN and R/R cohorts, respectively, with similar response findings among patients with standard and high-risk genomic features. In the TN cohort, median progression-free survival (PFS) was not reached and the 72-month PFS rate was 86.7% (95% confidence interval [CI], 77.0-92.5). For the R/R cohort, median PFS was 66.1 months (range, 0.4-87.8) and the 72-month PFS rate was 45.1% (95% CI, 35.6-54.1). This final analysis extends the duration of benefit observed with acalabrutinib, demonstrates that no new safety signals are apparent with longer follow-up, and confirms the safety and…

How strong is the evidence?

Evidence Hub reads this as a clinical trial, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 99 participants or records.

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