Bendamustine/Rituximab Followed by Venetoclax and Rituximab for Treatment of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Status:
Recruiting
Trial end date:
2025-12-01
Target enrollment:
Participant gender:
Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine the efficacy of bendamustine and rituximab (BR)
followed by venetoclax for 12 months. The total time on therapy is 15 months. Bendamustine
and rituximab is a commonly used treatment for CLL. Venetoclax is an oral drug that blocks a
protein called BCL-2 which is present on CLL cells. It is approved for patients with relapsed
(the cancer has come back) or refractory (the cancer did not respond) CLL who harbor a
deletion in the short arm of chromosome 17 [del(17p)]. When this drug is used by itself, many
patients needed to be admitted to the hospital to monitor for a complication known as tumor
lysis syndrome. This is an oncologic emergency that is caused by massive destruction of tumor
cells with the release of large amounts of electrolytes and other molecules into the blood
that can lead to renal failure and potentially death.