Idelalisib (previously called CAL-101 and GS-1101) is a first-in-class selective, oral inhibitor of the PI3K-delta enzymes that while essential to the process of activation, proliferation, and survival of B cells, is also hyperactive in B-cell malignancies. The treatment has previously shown considerable promise as a both a monotherapy and a combination therapy in recurrent non-Hodgkin lymphoma and a variety of other lymphomas.
At the recent annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Chicago, I presented updated results from a recent combination therapy study, contrasting the tolerability and activity of the PI3K-inhibitor idelalisib with rituximab and/or bendamustine in patients with previously treated indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma. From the 78 patients there was an overall response rate (ORR) was 81% with a complete response (CR) of 28%. The ORR/CR for idelalisib/rituximab was 77%/20%, idelalisib/bendamustine 85%/29%, and idelalisib/bendamustine/rituximab 79%/43%, with a progression free survival of 73% after 20 months.
The study concluded that idelalisib-based combination therapy deserves further clinical development as this combination therapy is highly active and well tolerated in patients with relapsed/refractory indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
For a full listing of all current clinical trials underway in the Lymphoma Program, please click here.
New Developments in Lymphoma 