Michael Wang, MD, Discusses the SYMPATICO Study on Ibrutinib Plus Venetoclax in MCL

Michael Wang, MD, of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, described the results of the SYMPATICO study presented at the 65th American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting & Exposition.

The phase III, randomized, multinational SYMPATICO trial compared ibrutinib plus venetoclax versus ibrutinib plus placebo in patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma (MCL).

“The combination of these two agents employs a different mechanism that complements each other, and it has been shown to be very efficacious in preclinical studies of [MCL] models,” Dr. Wang said.

Progression-free survival (PFS), the primary endpoint, was significantly prolonged with the combination, according to Dr. Wang. Median PFS was 31 months and 22 months in the combination and placebo arms, respectively. Meanwhile, the overall response rate was 82% in the combination arm compared with 74% in the placebo arm.

“This combination with ibrutinib and venetoclax should be a new standard of therapy in countries where ibrutinib is indicated to treat [MCL],” Dr. Wang concluded.