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News
Long-term data from the phase 3 ECHO trial confirm that adding acalabrutinib to bendamustine and rituximab (BR) significantly cuts the risk of disease progression or death in treatment-naive mantle cell lymphoma patients. At a median follow-up of ~5 years, the acalabrutinib combo extended progression-free survival by nearly 2 years compared to BR alone. Concurrent use of all three drugs outperformed sequential addition.
Long-term follow-up data from the phase 3 ECHO trial, presented at SOHO 2026, reinforce the case for adding acalabrutinib — a Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor — to the standard bendamustine and rituximab (BR) regimen as frontline therapy for mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). Across 598 treatment-naive patients with a median age of 71, the three-drug combo delivered a meaningful and durable survival benefit over BR alone, with concurrent use proving superior to sequential addition.
Notably, the need for subsequent anticancer therapy was threefold higher in the placebo/BR group (33.5%) vs the acalabrutinib/BR group (11.0%), and even among patients who crossed over to acalabrutinib after progression, outcomes remained better in the original acalabrutinib arm at 48 months.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: For MCL patients — who are often older and have limited treatment options — a nearly 25-month gain in progression-free survival with a manageable safety profile could meaningfully change frontline treatment decisions and delay the need for more aggressive therapies.
