In both the first-line and relapsed/ refractory setting, patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) treated with targeted therapies have longer median overall survival (OS), according to a study published in Clinical Lymphoma, Myeloma & Leukemia. Helen Ma, MD, and colleagues conducted a retrospective analysis of adults diagnosed with CLL. Patients (N=16,331) received treatment through the Veterans Affairs Healthcare System. In both untreated and treated patients, investigators assessed factors linked with survival. For the entire cohort, the median OS was 8.7 years (95% CI, 8.6-8.9 years). In untreated patients with CLL, the median OS from diagnosis was 8.9 years (95% CI, 8.6-9.2 years). In treated patients, the median time to first-line treatment was 1.9 years (range, 0-21 years), and the median OS from treatment initiation was 5.0 years (95% CI, 4.8-5.2 years). Consistent with FDA approval of targeted therapies, firstline treatments varied over time. Compared with median OS of 3.5 years (95% CI, 3.5-3.9 years) in patients who never received targeted therapy, exposure to targeted therapies as either first-line therapy or in subsequent lines of therapy was correlated with longer survival (median OS, 8.5 years; 95% CI, 8.0-9.1 years; P<0.0001).
