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When cancer comes back: Drug for mantle-cell lymphoma gives patients more time


March 30, 2016



A study recently published in The Lancet shows that a new treatment for an aggressive form of blood cancer can significantly extend patients’ lifespans after relapse. This international randomized Phase 3 clinical trial of 280 patients, co-authored by Dr. Isabelle Bence-Bruckler, is the first to compare the two targeted treatments for mantle-cell lymphoma (MCL) in cases where the cancer relapses after standard chemotherapy treatments. This study found that patients taking the newer treatment called ibrutinib had significantly better survival (14.6 months) compared with those taking intravenous temsirolimus (6.2 months). While both treatments had side effects, patients taking ibrutinib were less likely to stop the treatment because of them. Ibrutinib is approved in Canada for certain uses, but public funding for mantle cell lymphoma is yet to be secured.

Co-authors: Dreyling M, Jurczak W, Jerkeman M, Silva RS, Rusconi C, Trneny M, Offner F, Caballero D, Joao C, Witzens-Harig M, Hess G, Bence-Bruckler I, Cho SG, Bothos J, Goldberg JD, Enny C, Traina S, Balasubramanian S, Bandyopadhyay N, Sun S, Vermeulen J, Rizo A, Rule S.

Funders: Janssen Research & Development

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