What the trial was testing
The CRISTALLO enrolled 166 patients with leukemia. The study was sponsored by Hoffmann-La Roche and tracked outcomes across the full group of patients who matched the trial's eligibility profile.
It was a large trial designed to confirm whether the treatment works well enough for wider use. Trials at this stage are designed to produce evidence regulators and physicians can act on — not just observations to follow up later.
What the results showed
81% of patients on venetoclax-obinutuzumab had no detectable cancer in their blood compared to 55% on chemotherapy.
Blood · 2026 · NCT04285567
These findings — that had no detectable cancer in their blood after treatment — were published in the Blood and represent the headline result of the study.
Researchers tracked outcomes across 166 patients enrolled in the trial. The result was consistent enough across the group that the team felt confident reporting it.
What this means for patients
For patients with leukemia, this result changes the calculus on what to ask their care team about. Whether it changes day-to-day care depends on factors like disease subtype, prior treatments, and where the patient is in their care journey.
What you can do now
Venetoclax-obinutuzumab is FDA-approved for chronic lymphocytic leukemia and offers a chemotherapy-free option with high response rates. This trial confirms that it works better than older chemotherapy combinations at clearing cancer from the blood. Talk to your cancer specialist about whether this treatment is right for you.
Eligibility for the treatments mentioned above depends on specific test results and clinical history. Bring this summary, the trial name, and your most recent labs or pathology report to your next visit.
Open leukemia trials
Registry of the German CLL Study Group
Long term follow-up of patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), B-prolymphocytic leukemia (B-PLL), T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia (T-PLL), Small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL), T/Natural Killer large granular lymphocyte leukemia (T or NK-LGL), Hairy cell leukemia (HCL) and Richter's transformation
ELVN-001 for the Treatment of Chronic Myeloid Leukemia With and Without T315I Mutation in Japanese Participants
The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety, tolerability and determine the recommended dose for further clinical evaluation of ELVN-001 in Japanese patients with chronic phase chronic myeloid leukemia with and without T315I mutations in patients who has failed, or the patient is intolerant to, or not a candidate for, at least 2 prior TKIs.