Efficacy and Effectiveness Outcomes of Treatments for Double‐Exposed Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small Lymphocytic Lymphoma Patients: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

ABSTRACT Background Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors (BTKi) and the B‐cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2) inhibitor venetoclax have significantly improved outcomes and achieved durable remission in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). BTKi/venetoclax‐treated patients with exposure to both novel agents (regardless of the reason for discontinuation) are classified as “double‐exposed,” and often have poor prognoses. This study aims to assess the efficacy and effectiveness of treatments in double‐exposed CLL patients. Methods PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science databases were searched until December 2023. Results We retrieved 3948 articles for screening and included 13 publications covering nine distinct studies. Three clinical trials reported a median PFS of 16.8 months with pirtobrutinib, 13 months with lisocabtagene maraleucel, and 10.1 months with nemtabrutnib. ORR ranged from 58% with nemtabrutinib and 80% with lisocabtagene maraleucel. In observational studies, PFS ranged from 3 months with chemoimmunotherapy to 12 months with BTKi, and ORR ranged from 31.8% with chemoimmunotherapy to 85.7% with chimeric antigen receptors (CAR) T‐cell therapy. Conclusion This study highlights the limited clinical data on efficacy outcomes for double‐exposed CLL/SLL patients. Pirtobrutinib, lisocabtagene maraleucel, and a combination of ibrutinib and venetoclax have shown promising effects. However, the scarcity of treatment options and efficacy data for patients who have failed BTKi and venetoclax underscores a significant unmet medical need.

Keywords

• BTKi
• chronic lymphocytic leukemia
• double exposed
• double refractory
• efficacy
• relapsed/refractory