ATALANTA-1 data presented at ASH 2025 showed remarkable response rates and rapid manufacturing with an investigational autologous CAR T-cell therapy. ATALANTA-1 data presented at ASH 2025 showed remarkable response rates and rapid manufacturing with an investigational autologous CAR T-cell therapy. ... ASH 2025 data on the phase 2 TrAVeRse study evaluating acalabrutinib, venetoclax, and rituximab (AVR) in treatment-naive disease. He views AVR as a clear example of how frontline, chemo-free therapy may offer patients durable disease control with substantially reduced toxicity, positioning such regimens as a new standard of care for treatment-naive MCL. Stay ahead of policy, cost, and value—subscribe to AJMC for expert insights at the intersection of clinical care and health economics. Wang traces the field’s progress and how the advent of BTK inhibitors—beginning with ibrutinib and followed by newer-generation agents such as acalabrutinib—marked a turning point by delivering high response rates with oral therapy and substantially less toxicity. The addition of venetoclax further deepened responses, laying the groundwork for combination strategies capable of rivaling, and in some cases surpassing, outcomes historically achieved with chemotherapy. The TrAVeRse trial confirmed earlier single-center and smaller studies, demonstrating nearly universal overall response rates and complete response rates approaching 80%. These outcomes were consistent across risk groups, reinforcing the robustness of the regimen.

Original title: “Moving From Chemotherapy to Chemo-Free Frontline Care in MCL | AJMC”