07Jun

Hematological Cancers Highlights: ASCO 2021

A lot has been happening in the Hematological Cancer space. Have a look at a few of the important abstracts presented at ASCO21. 

Abstract# 7500:  Long-term Calquence (acalabrutinib) data from AstraZeneca demonstrate a safety advantage over Johnson & Johnson's and AbbVie's Imbruvica: ELEVATE-RR (ACE-CL-006) Study

Calquence, a next-generation-BTK inhibitor from AstraZeneca (Acerta Pharma), is already approved for adult patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and now posing a threat to J&J/ AbbVie's Imbruvica. The data from the first head-to-head trial comparing the safety and effectiveness of Calquence and Imbruvica in previously treated CLL presented at ASCO 2021 suggests that Calquence is less likely to trigger a serious cardiac adverse effect. Long-term data have shown that this drug triggers less all-grade atrial fibrillation events in comparison to Imbruvica (9.4% vs 16%, p=0.02). Both therapies had the same performance in terms of IRC-accessed progression-free survival (PFS). Calquence was non-inferior to Imbruvica at a median follow-up of 40.9 months, with a PFS of 38.4 months in both groups [(Hazard ratio (HR) 1.00; 95% CI, 0.79-1.27]. According to these findings, the Calquence arm exhibited lower rates of common adverse events (AEs), Grade ≥3, and treatment discontinuation rate owing to overall AEs (14.7% vs. 21.3%, respectively in the Calquence arm and Imbruvica arm).        

"In the future, Calquence and Imbruvica may face stiffer competition from BeiGene's Brukinsa and Eli Lilly's LOXO-305. In a recent head-to-head ALPINE study with Imbruvica, Brukinsa revealed a statistically significant reduced risk of atrial fibrillation or flutter in an interim analysis."

Abstract# 7501: A Phase II CAPTIVATE Study met its Primary endpoint, demonstrating chances of remission with fixed-duration therapy of Ibrutinib + Venetoclax 

At ASCO 2021, AbbVie presented the results of their Phase II CAPTIVATE Study. At a median follow-up time of 27.9 months, the Ibrutinib + Venetoclax combination demonstrated a complete response (CR) rate of 56% in patients without del(17p)/TP53 mutation and 55% in all patients. These findings were consistent across high-risk subgroups. In all patients, the 2-year progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) rates were 95% and 98%, respectively. High rates of undetectable minimal residual disease (uMRD) achieved in peripheral Blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) groups (77% and 60%, respectively) in all patients. The safety profile of Ibrutinib + Venetoclax was consistent with known adverse events (AEs) for each agent; no new safety signals were identified. The most common grade 3/4 AEs were neutropenia (33%), hypertension (6%), and a reduction in neutrophil count (5%). AEs resulted in the discontinuation of Ibrutinib in 4% of cases and Venetoclax in 2% of cases.

Get in touch with us at info@delveinsight.com to discuss more abstracts, highlights from ASCO21.