Dr Seymour on the Role of Mutational Profiling in CLL

John Seymour, MBBS, FRACP, PhD, director, Department of Hematology, the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, medical oncologist, Hematology Department, the Royal Melbourne Hospital, shared considerations for community oncologists regarding the role of mutational profiling in the treatment of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).

The CLL treatment armamentarium has expanded over the past decade, with multiple targeted agents now available for this patient population, Seymour begins. However, he explains that understanding a the mutational profile of an individual patient’s disease is crucial to inform treatment decision-making.

Seymour notes that TP53 and IGHV mutational status play a pivotal role in informing treatment decisions and optimizing patient outcomes in both the short and long term. He highlights that the integration of mutational profiling into routine clinical practice is essential. For example, TP53 mutations or deletions, which are associated with poorer prognoses and resistance to chemoimmunotherapy, may steer clinicians toward the use of targeted therapies, such as BTK inhibitors or BCL-2 inhibitors, Seymour says.