Overcoming ibrutinib and venetoclax resistance in chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

This project grant is funded by the Medical Research Council (MRC).

Ibrutinib and venetoclax have revolutionised treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). However, they are non-curative and some patients remain refractory or develop resistance. This project has two main aims; A. to develop a simple assay to predict which patients will respond well to these drugs, and which will not, and B. to investigate resistance mechanisms utilised by the tumour cells of non-responsive patients. This will enable us identify novel therapeutic targets for those with more challenging disease.