Ibrutinib and indolent B-cell lymphomas

Most patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas fail to achieve complete remission with current treatment approaches and invariably relapse. During the past decade, innovative immunochemotherapy strategies have substantially improved disease control rates but not survival, thus providing the rationale for development of novel agents targeting dysregulated pathways that are operable in these hematological malignancies. Ibrutinib, a novel first-in-human Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, has progressed into phase III trials after early-phase clinical studies demonstrated effective target inhibition, increased tumor response rates, and significant improvement in survival, particularly in patients with indolent B-cell lymphomas. Recently, the compound was designated a "breakthrough therapy" by the United States Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory mantle cell lymphoma and Waldenström macroglobulinemia. This review summarizes recent achievements of ibrutinib, with a focus on its emerging role in the treatment of patients with indolent B-cell lymphoid malignancies.