Drug aims to wipe out lingering cancer after initial treatment

This study tested whether the drug ibrutinib could eliminate the last traces of cancer in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) who had already responded to initial treatment but still had small amounts of disease left. Thirty-five patients took ibrutinib daily for up to three years to see if it could make them cancer-free in both blood and bone marrow tests. The main goal was to see how many patients achieved this 'no detectable cancer' status and how long it lasted.