Immunotherapeutic approaches have the potential to brighten the future not only for patients with del(17p13.1), but for all CLL patients.

Large multicenter trials have established that combination chemo-immunotherapy with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (Rituxan) (FCR) is the current standard of care for young fit patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).[1] This approach is neither curative, nor is it suited to the majority of patients. In addition, some patients respond poorly to chemo-immunotherapy or relapse early. Over the past decade considerable research in this disease has focused on the identification of those factors predictive of outcome. The tumor suppressor gene TP53 on chromosome 17 is one of the key elements in this context. Patients with del(17p13.1) with and without TP53 mutations have been repeatedly identified as having poor response and outcomes after standard therapy, underscoring the unmet need for alternative and novel treatment approaches, especially in this subgroup.