Acalabrutinib for adults with mantle cell lymphoma

Although advances in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) therapy have improved overall survival (OS), managing relapsed/refractory (R/R) cases remains a great challenge. Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitors have broadened therapeutic options in MCL and became the backbone of second-line strategies. Areas covered: Ibrutinib, the first-in-class BTK inhibitor registered for MCL therapy, is efficient, with clear benefits of its use. However, ibrutinib-related adverse events due to off-target inhibition of other kinases led to the development of more selective molecules with comparable efficacy and better safety profiles. Expert commentary: Acalabrutinib, a new BTK inhibitor, currently being evaluated in numerous clinical studies is approved by FDA in relapsing/refractory MCL. Its role will evolve over the next few years. Efficacy and good tolerability of acalabrutinib gives even greater opportunity for potential upfront use and new therapeutic combinations, including monoclonal antibodies, antibody-drug conjugates, immune checkpoint inhibitors, bcl-2 (B-cell lymphoma-2) or IP3K (phosphoinositide 3-kinase) inhibitors.