Over a ten-year span, the treatment landscape for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has improved dramatically. Between 2012 and 2022, a wave of research and innovation reshaped how CLL is treated. Until recently, chemotherapy was the standard option. While effective for some, these treatments could be challenging, with significant side effects.
That began to shift with the development of targeted therapies. These treatments have made it possible for many patients to avoid chemotherapy altogether. Instead of attacking all fast-growing cells as chemo did, targeted therapies focus on specific proteins or pathways in cancer cells making treatment more effective and often easier to tolerate.
Ibrutinib, the first Bruton tyrosine kinase inhibitor (BTKi), changed the game by disrupting a key signal that CLL cells rely on to grow. Venetoclax, which targets a protein called BCL-2, offered a different approach by deactivating the mechanism that allows cancer cells to avoid natural cell death (apoptosis).
In Canada, Ibrutinib was approved in 2014 and Venetoclax followed in 2018. CLL Canada contributed to the approval process for both drugs, working with other blood cancer organizations to ensure that the patient perspective was front and centre. By sharing insights on the realities of living with CLL and what people truly need from their treatments, patients helped shape the decisions that brought these life-changing options to market.
Thanks to these advances in treatment approaches, and the recent availability of next generation BTKi’s such as Acalabrutinib and Zanubrutinib, many people who once faced chemotherapy and uncertain outcomes are now living longer, healthier lives. While there’s still more work to be done, the progress made over one decade shows how far we’ve come and why there’s so much reason to feel hopeful about the future.
You can read more in the full article, “A Decade of Hope: How Advances in CLL Treatment Are Changing Lives”.
For more information on CLL treatment options, visit the Treatment section of CLL Canada’s Information and Resource Centre.