CLL cannot be cured but there are several options when it comes to the initial treatment. According to Dr. Matthew Davids, associate director of the Center for CLL at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the standard treatment route will be some form of chemo-immunotherapy. Typically, a chemo-immunotherapy regimen is given as initial therapy for six months at a time. Any treatment lasting longer than six months is difficult to tolerate.
According to the National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines, ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and acalabrutinib (Calquence) with/without obinutuzumab (Gazyva) are the preferred first treatment for all previously untreated CLL patients.
Read MoreFor older patients, doctors may use a different chemo-immunotherapy treatment called BR, says Dr. Davids, which is often a combination of Bendamustine and Rituximab. For patients who may even be older or too frail for BR, another treatment option is combining the oral chemo drug chlorambucil with the CD20 antibody obinutuzumab.
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