In this episode of HealthTalk TV, we take a deep dive into the rapidly evolving treatment landscape of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).
Host Lars Brock Nilsen is joined by Dr. Eugen Tausch, a leading international expert in CLL at the University Hospital in Ulm, to discuss how the field is moving away from chemotherapy and toward targeted, fixed-duration therapies — and what this means for patients in clinical practice.
Together, they explore the key questions shaping CLL treatment today: how do you choose between continuous BTK inhibitor therapy and time-limited venetoclax-based combinations? What role should patient preferences play? And what does the latest clinical trial data tell us about the best strategy for different patient profiles?
Topics covered in this episode:
• What is CLL, and why is its course so heterogeneous?
• The shift from chemoimmunotherapy to targeted therapies
• BTK inhibitors vs. venetoclax-based combinations: how to choose
• The importance of genetic risk factors (IGHV, TP53, del17p)
• Patient involvement and shared decision-making
• Key findings from the CLL17 trial
• Treatment sequencing and managing relapse
• Non-covalent BTK inhibitors and Pirtobrutinib: promise and open questions
• What's on the horizon: BTK degraders, bispecifics, and CAR-T in CLL
Dr. Tausch offers a nuanced and clinically grounded perspective on a field that continues to evolve at remarkable speed — and shares why he believes the best strategies are still being defined.
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