Study summary

Two pills together cleared visible disease far more often than ibrutinib alone

Ibrutinib plus venetoclax study · 15 people, phase 2 · Published March 2026, Blood Advances

What was tested

Ibrutinib (a BTK inhibitor) plus venetoclax (a BCL-2 inhibitor), with an option to stop treatment once no residual disease could be found, for relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma.

What they found

• Best complete response within 56 weeks was 57%, vs 3% historically with ibrutinib alone.
• 5-year progression-free survival was an estimated 56%.
• Four of six people who stopped treatment after clearing their disease stayed disease-free at about 4 years.

What it means

A small study, but it supports time-limited, chemotherapy-free pill combinations.