Is a complete response in CLL now a realistic goal?
Stephen H. Petersdorf University of Washington A Blood editorial concluding that the new combination therapy involving fludarabine and rituximab is an important step on the road to improving the complete response rate and, ultimately, the outcome in CLL. It cautions that despite enthusiasm for combination therapy for CLL, carefully performed phase 3 clinical trials are needed in order to evaluate the efficacy and complications of these new therapies. As therapy becomes more intensive, unforeseen toxicity such as the granulocytopenia seen in Byrd et al’s study or other complications such as opportunistic infections and myelodysplasia may be seen.
