fbpx

What is Duvelisib?

August 8, 2020
 CLL Pharmacist

Blood Cancer Uncensored is honoured to have been selected as a partner site to the CLL Pharmacist, and is delighted to welcome their founder Tom Henry as one of our authors. Join him as he talks about Duvelisib, a CLL medicine which is not mentioned much for some reason. This medicine is licensed in the USA but not the UK or EU.


Duvelisib has been on the market for a while; why is it not discussed much?

Is duvelisib approved for first-line treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL)?

The Drug

Duvelisib (DOO-ve-LIS-ib) is a drug used to treat chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL).

Duvelisib is the second FDA approved drug that targets Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase (PI3K). The first drug that inhibits PI3K is idelalisib(Zydelig®). A significant difference is that duvelisib inhibits both the delta and gamma forms of PI3K, whereas idelalisib only targets the delta form. Researchers believe the dual mechanism of inhibition with duvelisib provides greater efficacy compared to idelalisib.

Duvelisib is not a treatment used as the first treatment for CLL. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) guidelines for the treatment of CLL recommend duvelisib for patients whose CLL progressed (relapsed) or in whom prior treatment did not work (refractory). 

How it Works

The enzymes in the PI3K group appear in both malignant and healthy B-cells. PI3K is part of the B-cell receptor (BCR) signaling pathway and plays a role in cell cycle regulation. You will recall that the BCR signaling pathway also is effected by BTK or Bruton’s Tyrosine Kinase. Ibrutinib and acalabrutinib are two effective drugs that block this pathway. The PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway is one of the most critical intracellular pathways, which regulates cell growth, motility (movement), survival, metabolism, and angiogenesis (the development of new blood vessels. Many cancers, in addition to CLL/SLL, demonstrate PI3K signaling.

This article is abridged. You can read the full version on the CLL Pharmacist website.

Connect with us

We will keep you updated with more articles like this one

CLL Pharmacist
  • CLL Pharmacist

  • I’m Tom Henry the CLL Pharmacist. When you or a loved one was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), did you do research? Did you start with Google? That’s what I did and I quickly learned that not all information is reliable. You can take the FEAR out of CLL through education, benefit from my professional experience, and just as importantly my journey as a fellow CLL warrior! I want to be one of the sources you turn to first. Not just because I’ve been a pharmacist for 41-years but, because, like YOU, I am a CLL patient since 2015.

    Did you initially feel overwhelmed, afraid, and didn’t know where to turn for information, or are you an “old-hand” at CLL and just looking for additional information? I want to share the knowledge I’ve gained, as a patient, healthcare provider, and a CLL patient-advocate, to lessen the burden for you. You can e-mail Tom here.

CLL Pharmacist