Targeted Therapy of CLL

The landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has undergone profound changes in the past years. First, the addition of CD20-targeting antibodies to conventional chemotherapy has improved the therapeutic outcome in the majority of CLL patients. Since the establishment of the critical role of the B cell receptor signaling pathway in the pathogenesis of CLL, several agents have been developed to target this pathway. Ibrutinib and idelalisib, 2 potent kinase inhibitors, have both become available for CLL therapy in the first and second line. Additionally, the observation of high expression levels of the anti-apoptotic mitochondrial protein Bcl-2 in CLL has led to the development of venetoclax, a BH3 mimetic compound that inhibits Bcl-2 and has shown high efficacy in CLL. This short review summarizes preclinical and clinical data on currently available agents in CLL and provides an outlook on upcoming new challenges in the targeted therapy of CLL.