‘Milestone’ treatment could reshape future leukaemia care
A UK trial has found that a chemotherapy-free approach to treatment may lead to better outcomes for some leukaemia patients, in what scientists are calling a "milestone".
The groundbreaking UK-wide trial could reshape the way the most common form of leukaemia in adults is treated.
Researchers from Leeds assessed whether two targeted cancer drugs could perform better than standard chemotherapy among patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL).
The Flair trial, which took place at 96 cancer centres across the UK, saw 786 people with previously untreated CLL randomly assigned to receive standard chemotherapy; a single targeted drug, ibrutinib, or two targeted drugs taken together, ibrutinib and venetoclax, with treatment guided by personalised blood tests.
Researchers found that after five years, 94% of patients who received ibrutinib plus venetoclax were alive with no disease progression.
This compares with 79% for those on ibrutinib alone and 58 per cent for those on standard chemotherapy, according to the study, which has been published in the New England Journal of Medicine and presented to the European Haematology Association congress in Milan, Italy.
Dr Talha Munir, consultant haematologist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, who led the study, said the Flair trial is a “milestone”.
“We have shown that a chemotherapy-free approach can be not only more effective but also more tolerable for patients,” she said.
Source: The Independent, 16 June 2025