Current understanding of bleeding with ibrutinib use: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Ibrutinib therapy was associated with an increased risk of bleeding in previous trials. In this systematic review and meta-analysis of published trials including patients treated with ibrutinib, the relative risk (95% confidence interval [CI]) of overall bleeding was significantly higher in ibrutinib recipients (2.72 [1.62-6.58]), but major bleeding did not show a significant difference (1.66 [0.96-2.85]). The incidences (95% CI) of major bleeding and any bleeding were 3.0 (2.3-3.7) and 20.8 (19.1-22.1) per 100 patient-years, respectively. This analysis is limited by reporting bias from variable ascertainment of bleeding and lack of allocation concealment in some studies and differing exposures between groups, leading to potential overestimation of event rates in the ibrutinib group.