ALPINE: zanubrutinib versus ibrutinib in relapsed/refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma
Peter Hillmen, Jennifer R. Brown, Barbara Eichhorst, Nicole Lamanna, Susan O’Brien, Lugui Qiu, Tommi Salmi, James Hilger, Kenneth Wu, Aileen Cohen, Jane Huang, Constantine S. Tam
Abstract
Treatment standards for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) have been transformed with the advent of effective inhibitors of B-cell receptor signaling such as ibrutinib - a first-in-class inhibitor of BTK. Off-target kinase inhibitions by ibrutinib are thought to contribute to its adverse events. Zanubrutinib is a next-generation BTK inhibitor with minimal off-target effects, sustained BTK occupancy in peripheral blood mononuclear cells and lymph nodes from patients with B-cell malignancies and promising responses in patients with CLL. Described here is a head-to-head Phase III study comparing the efficacy and safety of zanubrutinib with those of ibrutinib in patients with CLL/small lymphocytic lymphoma in the relapsed/refractory setting.