Author: lymphomaprogram

Located on the Upper East Side of New York City, the Lymphoma Program at Weill Cornell Medical College/NewYork Presbyterian Hospital is internationally recognized for our efforts to enable patients with non-Hodgkin lymphoma, Hodgkin disease and related disorders to have the best possible clinical outcome, including cure when possible.

ACP-196: What You Should Know about this New Agent for B-cell Lymphomas and CLL

What is it?

ACP-196 is a second generation Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor that can be taken orally. It was developed as an alternative to ibrutinib and was designed to be more selective in targeting BTK. Like ibrutinib it inhibits BTK, a protein important in the development, activation, proliferation, and survival of B-cells. ACP-196 is currently being investigated as a treatment for various B-cell lymphomas, as well as chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

How does ACP-196 work?

ACP-196 works by inhibiting the activity of BTK, a protein important in the development of B-cells. By preventing the activation of the B-cell antigen receptor signaling pathway, it slows down the growth of cancerous B-cells caused by the overactive BTK.

Does ACP-196 have any side effects?

The side effects for ACP-196 are acceptable and manageable with very few side effects being considered severe.

What is the difference between ACP-196 and ibrutinib?

ACP-196 and ibrutinib are similar in that they both inhibit BTK using the same binding site. They also are both effective in treating chronic lymphocytic leukemia cells. The difference is that ACP-196 inhibits fewer off target enzymes. By being more specific for BTK, the drug may have fewer side effects than ibrutinib, while maintaining similar anti-cancer activity.

How can I access ACP-196?

There are currently numerous clinical trials opened at Weill Cornell Medicine that use ACP-196 for various indications of CLL and B-cell lymphomas. A full list can be found on our Joint Clinical Trials website.

Dr. John Leonard Discusses New Treatments for Follicular Lymphoma

OncLive recently reported on a presentation made by Lymphoma Program Director, Dr. John Leonard at the 2016 International Congress on Hematologic Malignancies on novel treatments that could improve the long term survival of patients with follicular lymphoma. In introducing this topic he noted,

“Most patients will not die from follicular lymphoma, and that’s very reassuring. About 80% of patients will die with their follicular lymphoma and not of their follicular lymphoma…That really tells you something. If 80% of patients are not going to die from their disease, we can make a patient feel a lot better and can guide how we treat the patient.”

The article than summarizes Dr. Leonard’s discussion of these potential new treatments. Some of these treatments for follicular lymphoma are currently being investigated in clinical trials at Weill Cornell Medicine. If you are interested in a trial for follicular lymphoma, please look to our Joint Clinical Trials listings.

FDA Alert on Idelalisib in Combination with other Cancer Treatments

On March 14, three days after a similar announcement from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued an alert to healthcare professionals concerning the use of idelalisib (Zydelig) in combination with other cancer treatments. Following reports of increased adverse events including deaths linked to idelalisib during clinical trials, Gilead Sciences, stopped six clinical trials for patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small lymphocytic leukemia (SLL), and indolent non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Idelalisib is currently approved for use in relapsed CLL, in combination with rituximab, in patients for whom rituximab alone would be considered appropriate therapy due to other co-morbidities, relapsed follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma in patients who have received at least two prior systemic therapies, and relapsed SLL in patients who have received at least two prior systemic therapies. These approvals were based on phase 2 and phase 3 studies that had demonstrated significant evidence of benefit relative to standard therapies. The recent FDA/EMA announcements have not commented on the approved indications for idelalisib.

Doctors at Weill Cornell Medicine take patient safety very seriously. Patients currently taking idelalisib are encouraged to discuss any concerns they may have with their physician.