According to a recent article, new evidence shows adding ibrutinib to a patient’s chemotherapy regimen may improve the longevity of younger patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL).
Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL)
Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, with more than 18,000 people being diagnosed every year. B-lymphocytes are affected in this aggressive cancer.
This cancer can occur in any place throughout the body and affect people of any age, but it is most likely to affect the lymph nodes in those over the age of 60.
Symptoms:
The most common symptom is painless swelling of the lymph nodes, which can occur in many places throughout the body and grow quickly. Other symptoms include night sweats, fevers, unintentional weight loss, and itching.
If the cancer has spread, other symptoms may occur depending on the affected organs. For example, DLBCL that has spread to the abdomen can cause effects like pain, diarrhea, and bleeding.
Analyzing the Phase 3 Clinical Trial
Researchers initially believed that the results from the PHOENIX trial revealed that the addition of ibrutinib with chemotherapy was unsuccessful in helping patients with DLBCL live longer. However, researchers at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) did a new analysis on the results of the trial and discovered certain patients can benefit.
The researchers analyzed the tumor biopsy samples from patients in the trial and found that younger patients with specific genetic subtypes (MCD and N1) had a good response to the combination of ibrutinib and chemotherapy. The patients with this subtype were disease-free after their diagnosis and had a 100% survival rate.
Ibrutinib
Ibrutinib is the first targeted therapy used for treating DLBCL. It works by blocking Bruton tyrosine kinase activity (a protein involved in the growth and survival of B cells), a protein that cancer cells need to survive. Hopefully, adding it to chemotherapy regimens will help young DLBCL patients in the future.
