Multinational phase 2-3 trial of first-line ibrutinib plus rituximab versus immunochemotherapy for mantle cell lymphoma

The multinational phase 2-3 ENRICH trial compared the first-line chemotherapy-free regimen of ibrutinib plus rituximab for patients aged 60 years and older versus standard R-CHOP or bendamustine-rituximab. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival. The median progression-free survival of ibrutinib-rituximab was superior to immunochemotherapy (HR 0.69; p=0.0034). Grade 3 or above adverse events were reported for 67% assigned to ibrutinib-rituximab and 70% of patients receiving immunochemotherapy. The authors conclude that the study suggests that ibrutinib-rituximab should be considered a new standard of care option for first-line treatment of older patients with mantle cell lymphoma.