Ibrutinib is a targeted medicine taken by mouth for blood cancers that start in B lymphocytes — chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) and small lymphocytic lymphoma, Waldenström macroglobulinaemia, and in some regions mantle cell and marginal zone lymphoma. It is also used for chronic graft-versus-host disease after a stem-cell transplant when steroids have not worked.
It was the first medicine to block Bruton tyrosine kinase (BTK), an enzyme the cancerous B cells depend on to survive. It is taken once a day, continuously, for as long as it keeps working and is tolerated — often for years.
Bleeding, irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation), high blood pressure and infections are the side effects your haematologist watches for. Ibrutinib is a prescription-only medicine; a valid prescription must be provided at checkout.