Chemotherapy is an important treatment for CLL/SLL and can often get the lymphoma into remission. Chemotherapy is usually given in combination with targeted therapies. Most patients are now treated initially with either targeted therapy or immunotherapy. Another type of targeted therapy for CLL/SLL are called B-cell receptor inhibitors.
They may be used to treat a particular type of CLL/SLL that does not respond well to chemotherapy.
The Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor ibrutinib (Imbruvica) has been FDA-approved as first-line therapy for CLL/SLL. The PI3K inhibitor idelalisib (Zydelig) in combination with rituximab and the BCL-2 inhibitor venetoclax (Venclexta) have been approved for use in patients with relapsed CLL/SLL.
A bone marrow or stem-cell transplant may be offered to some people. Stem-cell transplants may be autologous (person’s own stem cells are used), or allogeneic (stem cells are from a donor). Autologous stem cell transplantation is not used in patients with CLL/SLL because their stem cells are often contaminated with the disease.
On the other hand, Allogeneic transplants in people with CLL/SLL have proven to be quite successful in terms of curing people with this disease but there are significant risks and side effects associated with such transplants, that is the major reason why they are usually only given to relatively young, fit people.
Even though, it is a potentially curative option but is rarely utilized due to the reasons discussed previously. Apart from this, Radiotherapy uses high-energy rays to destroy cancer cells, while causing as little harm as possible to normal cells. It may be used as a first treatment if the abnormal B-cells are contained in 1 or 2 groups of lymph nodes in the same part of the body. Usage of this treatment option is highly variable and may be used in certain situations only. Radiation therapy is rarely used to treat patients with CLL/SLL.
Incessant research and efforts are being made by companies, organizations and various doctors to help the patients suffering from CLL/SLL. New treatments for CLL/SLL are being investigated all the time and people may be invited by their doctor to take part in a clinical trial to compare a new treatment against the best available standard treatment.
Even though CLL/SLL are at present considered incurable, there is enduring hope that new therapies will eventually provide the answer to treating these diseases. Participation in clinical trials is essential to answering these questions.
The dynamics of the CLL/SLL market is anticipated to change in the coming years owing to the launch of emerging therapies during the forecast period of 2021–2030. Major Pharma giants are thoroughly working toward the development of new treatment therapies for this indication, in order to provide better relief for the symptoms and hence improve the Quality of life (QoL) of patients with CLL/SLL.
Key players, such as AbbVie, BeiGene, Janssen, AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly and Company, TG Therapeutics, BMS and others are involved in developing novel therapies for this indication and will lead to a significant increase in the market size during the forecast period [2021–2030].
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