Surrogate endpoints in mature B-cell neoplasms - meaningful or misleading?

Indolent mature B-cell neoplasms are a group of diseases in which recent therapeutic advances have led to an improved overall survival (OS) extending beyond several years. While cause of celebration for patients and caregivers, the increasingly long observation periods necessary to capture treatment effects are complicating trial design and possibly hindering swift access to more effective therapies. Surrogate endpoints are a tool with the potential of earlier study readouts, however, their validity needs to be proven in each individual disease and therapeutic setting.

Ibrutinib in Early-Stage Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia: The Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Double-Blind, Phase III CLL12 Trial.

Purpose: The CLL12 trial reassesses the watch-and-wait consensus for early-stage chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) in the context of targeted therapies.

Methods: The German CLL Study Group conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III trial with 363 patients with asymptomatic, treatment-naïve Binet stage A CLL at increased risk of progression to receive ibrutinib (n = 182) at a daily dose of 420 mg or placebo (n = 181). Additionally, 152 low-risk patients were allocated to the watch-and-wait group.

CHARACTERIZATION OF SERUM SERINE PROTEASE BIOCHEMICAL PROFILE IN PATIENTS WITH RENAL FAILURE.

The present study meticulously delineates the biochemical alterations in serine protease activity and various life variables in patients with kidney failure compared to a control group. By evaluating 160 samples, comprising 80 from individuals with renal failure and 80 from healthy controls, the researchers observed a significant elevation in serine protease activity among kidney failure patients (274.38 ± 1.

End Point Surrogacy in First-Line Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Purpose: Surrogate end points are commonly used to estimate treatment efficacy in clinical studies of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). This patient- and trial-level analysis describes the correlation between progression-free survival (PFS) and minimal residual disease (MRD) with overall survival (OS) in first-line trials for CLL.

Patients And Methods: First, patient-level correlation was confirmed using source data from 12 frontline German CLL Study Group (GCLLSG)-trials.