Prediction of poor outcome in CLL patients following first-line treatment with fludarabine, cyclophosphamide and rituximab

Chemoimmunotherapies like the combination of fludarabine, cyclophosphamide, and rituximab (FCR) achieve response rates as high as 95% in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL).1 Further improvements in clinical outcome will therefore mainly depend on attaining more durable remissions in those responders who suffer an early relapse. In general, progression of disease within 24 months after intensive chemoimmunotherapy is regarded as unsatisfactory2 and might be associated with a shortened overall survival (OS).3