Can a Four-Drug cocktail erase traces of Hard-to-Treat leukemia?

NCT ID NCT04515238

What the study statuses mean

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Recruitment status, easiest to join first

Recruiting now
This trial is taking on new participants right now.
Not yet recruiting
Registered, but not yet taking participants.
By invitation only
Not open to general applications. Only people the study team invites can take part.
Paused
Paused for now. It may or may not start again.
Ongoing This study
Running, but no longer taking on new participants.
Completed
The trial has finished. Results may not be published yet.
Stopped early
Stopped early, before it reached the end. That can be for many reasons, including safety.
Cancelled
Cancelled before anyone took part.

Expanded access (not trials)

Expanded access
Not a trial. This treatment can be requested outside a study, case by case, for people who qualify.
Expanded access (paused)
Not a trial. The treatment can normally be requested outside a study, but is unavailable right now.
Expanded access (ended)
Not a trial. The treatment could once be requested outside a study, but no longer can.
Approved
The treatment has been approved, so it is available normally rather than through this programme.

When the status isn't known

Details not published
The full record has not been published yet, so there is little to show here.
Status unknown
This status has not been confirmed recently, so it may be out of date.

First seen Aug 20, 2026 · Last updated Aug 21, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This phase 2 trial is testing whether a sequence of four drugs—bendamustine, obinutuzumab, zanubrutinib, and venetoclax—can eliminate minimal residual disease in people with relapsed or refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The study enrolls about 42 adults whose CLL has returned or not responded to prior treatment. The goal is to see if this combination can drive the leukemia to undetectable levels, which may lead to longer-lasting remissions.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance
A sequential regimen of bendamustine, obinutuzumab, zanubrutinib, and venetoclax
What this could lead to
If successful, this combination could offer a new treatment option for people with relapsed or refractory CLL, potentially achieving deep remissions with undetectable disease.
What could go wrong
This is a phase 2 trial with a small number of participants, so results may not be conclusive. The drugs can cause side effects, and the combination may not work for everyone.

This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.

Study facts

What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.

Phase

Phase 2

Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.

Participants

42 people

The number who actually took part.

Started

Oct 2020

Expected to finish

Feb 2027

An estimate. End dates often move.

Lead sponsor

Other sponsor

The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.

Who can take part

This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.

Ages

18 years and older

Sex

Anyone

Healthy volunteers

Not accepted

This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.

Show the full entry requirements

Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.

Inclusion Criteria: 1. Relapsed/refractory CLL in need of treatment according to International Workshop on Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (iwCLL) criteria In case of a recent previous treatment, patients must have recovered from acute toxicities and treatment regimen must be stopped within the following time periods before start of the study treatment in the CLL2-BZAG trial: * chemotherapy ≥ 28 days * antibody treatment ≥ 14 days * kinase inhibitors, BCL2-antagonists or immunomodulatory agents ≥ 3 days * corticosteroids may be applied until the start of the BZAG-regimen, these have to be reduced to an equivalent of ≤ 20mg prednisolone per day during treatment Please note: Patients with a progression during previous treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib or another BTK inhibitor, as well as patients with a known resistance mutation (e.g. BTK-/PLCg2) are excluded from study participation. However, patients who progressed after termination of treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib, other BTK inhibitors and/or obinutuzumab or who stopped treatment due to intolerance to ibrutinib are eligible for participation. 2. Adequate renal function, as indicated by a creatinine clearance ≥30ml/min calculated according to the modified formula of Cockcroft and Gault or directly measured with 24 hr. urine collection 3. Adequate hematologic function as indicated by a neutrophil count ≥ 1.0 x 109/L, a hemoglobin value ≥8.0 g/dL and a platelet count ≥ 25 x 109/L, unless directly attributable to the patient´s CLL (e.g. bone marrow infiltration), in this case, platelet count should be ≥ 10 × 109/L. 4. Adequate liver function as indicated by a total bilirubin ≤2x, AST/ALT ≤2.5x the institutional ULN value, unless directly attributable to the patient's CLL or to Gilbert's Syndrome 5. Negative serological testing for hepatitis B (HBsAg negative and anti-HBc negative, patients positive for anti-HBc may be included if PCR for Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) DNA is negative and HBV-DNA PCR is performed every 4 weeks until one year after last dosage of GA101 (obinutuzumab) or until the last dose of zanubrutinib, whichever occurs later), negative testing for hepatitis-C RNA and negative HIV test within 6 weeks prior to registration 6. Age ≥ 18 years 7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status (ECOG) 0 - 2, ECOG 3 is only permitted if related to CLL (e.g. due to anemia or severe constitutional symptoms) 8. Life expectancy ≥ 6 months 9. Ability and willingness to provide written informed consent and to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements Exclusion Criteria: 1. (Suspicion of) transformation of CLL (i.e. Richter's transformation, pro-lymphocytic leukemia) or central nervous system (CNS) involvement 2. Progression during previous treatment with venetoclax, ibrutinib or another BTK inhibitor, and/or presence of known mutations associated with resistance to therapy, e.g. Bruton´s Tyrosine Kinase and Phospholipase C Gamma 2 (PLCg2) 3. Confirmed progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) 4. Malignancies other than CLL currently requiring systemic therapies 5. Uncontrolled infection requiring systemic treatment 6. Any comorbidity or organ system impairment rated with a Cumulative Illness Rating Scale (CIRS) score of 4, excluding the eyes/ears/nose/throat/larynx organ system or any other life-threatening illness, medical condition or organ system dysfunction that - in the investigator´s opinion - could compromise the patients safety or interfere with the absorption or metabolism of the study drugs (e.g, inability to swallow tablets or impaired resorption in the gastrointestinal tract) 7. Significantly increased risk of bleeding according to the investigator´s evaluation, e.g. due known bleeding diathesis (e.g. von-Willebrandt´s disease or hemophilia), major surgical procedure ≤ 4 weeks or stroke/intracranial hemorrhage ≤ 6 months. 8. Requirement of therapy with strong CYP3A4 inhibitors/inducers or anticoagulant with phenprocoumon (marcumar) or other vitamin K-antagonists 9. Use of investigational agents ≤ 28 days prior to start of study treatment, however, kinase inhibitors, BCL2-antagonists and antibody treatment are allowed in accordance with inclusion criterion number 1 (see above). 10. Known hypersensitivity to obinutuzumab (GA101), venetoclax (ABT-199), zanubrutinib (BGB-3111) or any of the excipients Please note: Patients with a known hypersensitivity to bendamustine are allowed to participate but will not receive a debulking with bendamustine 11. Pregnant women and nursing mothers (a negative pregnancy test is required for all women of childbearing potential within 7 days before start of treatment) 12. Fertile men or women of childbearing potential unless: * surgically sterile or ≥ 2 years after the onset of menopause, or * willing to use two methods of reliable contraception including one highly effective (Pearl Index \<1) and one additional effective (barrier) method during study treatment and for 18 months after end of study treatment. 13. Vaccination with a live vaccine ≤ 28 days prior to registration 14. Legal incapacity 15. Prisoners or subjects who are institutionalized by regulatory or court order 16. Persons who are in dependence to the sponsor or an investigator

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

Contacts and locations

Locations

  • Evangelische Krankenhaus Hamm

    Hamm, 59063, Germany

  • Hamatologische/Onkologische Gemeinschaftspraxis

    Augsburg, 86150, Germany

  • Hämatologisch Onkologische Schwerpunktpraxis

    Würzburg, 97080, Germany

  • KH Kliniken Maria Hilf

    Mönchengladbach, 41063, Germany

  • Klinikum Rechts der Isar - Technische Universitaet Muenchen

    Munich, 81675, Germany

  • Onkologische Schwerpunktpraxis

    Esslingen am Neckar, 73728, Germany

  • Stauferklinikum Schwaebisch-Gmuend

    Mutlangen, 73557, Germany

  • Universitaetskliniken des Saarlandes

    Homburg, 66424, Germany

  • Universitaetsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein Campus Kiel

    Kiel, 24105, Germany

  • Universitätsklinik Köln

    Cologne, 50937, Germany

  • Universitätsklinik Ulm

    Ulm, 89081, Germany

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