Congratulations to Alberto Guijosa, a Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia research fellow at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, on his recent publication in Leukemia.
In this study, Alberto presented insightful data on the response and survival outcomes of patients with Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia treated with zanubrutinib outside of clinical trials.
Dr. Jorge Castillo shared his thoughts about Alberto's study: "Importantly, these data improve our understanding on the impact of the biology of Waldenstrom macroglobulinemia on patient outcomes."
Patient-friendly summary (generated by AI, courtesy of Rick Savoy!)
What question were the researchers trying to answer?
Zanubrutinib (Brukinsa) is widely used for WM and did well in the ASPEN clinical trial, but there has been little “real-world” (off trial) data. The researchers wanted to know:
How well does zanubrutinib work in everyday clinic practice?
Do certain gene changes—especially CXCR4 and TP53—affect response or how long the drug keeps working?
Why this matters to patients
This study supports a few practical, patient-relevant messages:
* Zanubrutinib works very well in real-world WM, with high response rates and strong 2-year disease control.
* CXCR4 mutations (especially frameshift) may mean a slower/shallower early IgM response, but people still often do well long-term—so patience and careful monitoring matter.
* TP53 alterations are most concerning in previously treated WM, where they may predict shorter durability on zanubrutinib.
Read the original article:
https://iwmf.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/off_trial_Zanu_WM_Jan2026_DFCI.pdf