Autoimmune hemolytic anemias (AIHAs) are rare and heterogeneous disorders characterized by the destruction of red blood cells through warm or cold antibodies. There is currently no licensed treatment ...for AIHA. Due to the paucity of clinical trials, recommendations on diagnosis and therapy have often been based on expert opinions and some national guidelines. Here we report the recommendations of the First International Consensus Group, who met with the aim to review currently available data and to provide standardized diagnostic criteria and therapeutic approaches as well as an overview of novel therapies. Exact diagnostic workup is important because symptoms, course of disease, and therapeutic management relate to the type of antibody involved. Monospecific direct antiglobulin test is considered mandatory in the diagnostic workup, and any causes of secondary AIHA have to be diagnosed. Corticosteroids remain first-line therapy for warm-AIHA, while the addition of rituximab should be considered early in severe cases and if no prompt response to steroids is achieved. Rituximab with or without bendamustine should be used in the first line for patients with cold agglutinin disease requiring therapy. We identified a need to establish an international AIHA network. Future recommendations should be based on prospective clinical trials whenever possible.
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) is a rare, acquired disease characterized by chronic complement-mediated hemolysis. C5 inhibition controls intravascular hemolysis in untreated PNH but ...cannot address extravascular hemolysis. Pegcetacoplan, a pegylated peptide targeting proximal complement protein C3, potentially inhibits both intravascular and extravascular hemolysis.
We conducted a phase 3 open-label, controlled trial to assess the efficacy and safety of pegcetacoplan as compared with eculizumab in adults with PNH and hemoglobin levels lower than 10.5 g per deciliter despite eculizumab therapy. After a 4-week run-in phase in which all patients received pegcetacoplan plus eculizumab, we randomly assigned patients to subcutaneous pegcetacoplan monotherapy (41 patients) or intravenous eculizumab (39 patients). The primary end point was the mean change in hemoglobin level from baseline to week 16. Additional clinical and hematologic markers of hemolysis and safety were assessed.
Pegcetacoplan was superior to eculizumab with respect to the change in hemoglobin level from baseline to week 16, with an adjusted (least squares) mean difference of 3.84 g per deciliter (P<0.001). A total of 35 patients (85%) receiving pegcetacoplan as compared with 6 patients (15%) receiving eculizumab no longer required transfusions. Noninferiority of pegcetacoplan to eculizumab was shown for the change in absolute reticulocyte count but not for the change in lactate dehydrogenase level. Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue scores improved from baseline in the pegcetacoplan group. The most common adverse events that occurred during treatment in the pegcetacoplan and eculizumab groups were injection site reactions (37% vs. 3%), diarrhea (22% vs. 3%), breakthrough hemolysis (10% vs. 23%), headache (7% vs. 23%), and fatigue (5% vs. 15%). There were no cases of meningitis in either group.
Pegcetacoplan was superior to eculizumab in improving hemoglobin and clinical and hematologic outcomes in patients with PNH by providing broad hemolysis control, including control of intravascular and extravascular hemolysis. (Funded by Apellis Pharmaceuticals; PEGASUS ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT03500549.).
Imetelstat, a 13-mer oligonucleotide that is covalently modified with lipid extensions, competitively inhibits telomerase enzymatic activity. It has been shown to inhibit megakaryocytic proliferation ...in vitro in cells obtained from patients with essential thrombocythemia. In this phase 2 study, we investigated whether imetelstat could elicit hematologic and molecular responses in patients with essential thrombocythemia who had not had a response to or who had had unacceptable side effects from prior therapies.
A total of 18 patients in two sequential cohorts received an initial dose of 7.5 or 9.4 mg of imetelstat per kilogram of body weight intravenously once a week until attainment of a platelet count of approximately 250,000 to 300,000 per cubic millimeter. The primary end point was the best hematologic response.
Imetelstat induced hematologic responses in all 18 patients, and 16 patients (89%) had a complete hematologic response. At the time of the primary analysis, 10 patients were still receiving treatment, with a median follow-up of 17 months (range, 7 to 32 ongoing). Molecular responses were seen in 7 of 8 patients who were positive for the JAK2 V617F mutation (88%; 95% confidence interval, 47 to 100). CALR and MPL mutant allele burdens were also reduced by 15 to 66%. The most common adverse events during treatment were mild to moderate in severity; neutropenia of grade 3 or higher occurred in 4 of the 18 patients (22%) and anemia, headache, and syncope of grade 3 or higher each occurred in 2 patients (11%). All the patients had at least one abnormal liver-function value; all persistent elevations were grade 1 or 2 in severity.
Rapid and durable hematologic and molecular responses were observed in patients with essential thrombocythemia who received imetelstat. (Funded by Geron; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01243073.).
Eculizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against complement protein C5 that inhibits terminal complement activation, has been shown to prevent complications of paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria ...(PNH) and improve quality of life and overall survival, but data on the use of eculizumab in women during pregnancy are scarce.
We designed a questionnaire to solicit data on pregnancies in women with PNH and sent it to the members of the International PNH Interest Group and to the physicians participating in the International PNH Registry. We assessed the safety and efficacy of eculizumab in pregnant patients with PNH by examining the birth and developmental records of the children born and adverse events in the mothers.
Of the 94 questionnaires that were sent out, 75 were returned, representing a response rate of 80%. Data on 75 pregnancies in 61 women with PNH were evaluated. There were no maternal deaths and three fetal deaths (4%). Six miscarriages (8%) occurred during the first trimester. Requirements for transfusion of red cells increased during pregnancy, from a mean of 0.14 units per month in the 6 months before pregnancy to 0.92 units per month during pregnancy. Platelet transfusions were given in 16 pregnancies. In 54% of pregnancies that progressed past the first trimester, the dose or the frequency of use of eculizumab had to be increased. Low-molecular-weight heparin was used in 88% of the pregnancies. Ten hemorrhagic events and 2 thrombotic events were documented; both thrombotic events occurred during the postpartum period. A total of 22 births (29%) were premature. Twenty cord-blood samples were examined for the presence of eculizumab; the drug was detected in 7 of the samples. A total of 25 babies were breast-fed, and in 10 of these cases, breast milk was examined for the presence of eculizumab; the drug was not detected in any of the 10 breast-milk samples.
Eculizumab provided benefit for women with PNH during pregnancy, as evidenced by a high rate of fetal survival and a low rate of maternal complications. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01374360.).
Sutimlimab in Cold Agglutinin Disease Röth, Alexander; Barcellini, Wilma; D'Sa, Shirley ...
The New England journal of medicine,
04/2021, Letnik:
384, Številka:
14
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Cold agglutinin disease is a rare autoimmune hemolytic anemia characterized by hemolysis that is caused by activation of the classic complement pathway. Sutimlimab, a humanized monoclonal antibody, ...selectively targets the C1s protein, a C1 complex serine protease responsible for activating this pathway.
We conducted a 26-week multicenter, open-label, single-group study to assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous sutimlimab in patients with cold agglutinin disease and a recent history of transfusion. The composite primary end point was a normalization of the hemoglobin level to 12 g or more per deciliter or an increase in the hemoglobin level of 2 g or more per deciliter from baseline, without red-cell transfusion or medications prohibited by the protocol.
A total of 24 patients were enrolled and received at least one dose of sutimlimab; 13 patients (54%) met the criteria for the composite primary end point. The least-squares mean increase in hemoglobin level was 2.6 g per deciliter at the time of treatment assessment (weeks 23, 25, and 26). A mean hemoglobin level of more than 11 g per deciliter was maintained in patients from week 3 through the end of the study period. The mean bilirubin levels normalized by week 3. A total of 17 patients (71%) did not receive a transfusion from week 5 through week 26. Clinically meaningful reductions in fatigue were observed by week 1 and were maintained throughout the study. Activity in the classic complement pathway was rapidly inhibited, as assessed by a functional assay. Increased hemoglobin levels, reduced bilirubin levels, and reduced fatigue coincided with inhibition of the classic complement pathway. At least one adverse event occurred during the treatment period in 22 patients (92%). Seven patients (29%) had at least one serious adverse event, none of which were determined by the investigators to be related to sutimlimab. No meningococcal infections occurred.
In patients with cold agglutinin disease who received sutimlimab, selective upstream inhibition of activity in the classic complement pathway rapidly halted hemolysis, increased hemoglobin levels, and reduced fatigue. (Funded by Sanofi; CARDINAL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT03347396.).
This is the final report of a phase III randomized study to evaluate whole-brain radiotherapy (WBRT) in primary therapy of primary CNS lymphoma (PCNSL) after a median follow-up of 81.2 months.
...Patients with newly diagnosed PCNSL were randomized to high-dose methotrexate (HDMTX)-based chemotherapy alone or followed by WBRT. We hypothesized that the omission of WBRT would not compromise overall survival (OS; primary endpoint), using a noninferiority design with a margin of 0.9.
In the per-protocol population (n = 320), WBRT nonsignificantly prolonged progression-free survival (PFS) (median 18.2 vs 11.9 months, hazard ratio HR 0.83 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.65-1.06, p = 0.14) and significantly PFS from last HDMTX (25.5 vs 12.0 months, HR 0.65 95% CI 0.5-0.83, p = 0.001), but without OS prolongation (35.6 vs 37.1 months, HR 1.03 95% CI 0.79-1.35, p = 0.82). In the intent-to-treat population (n = 410), there was a prolongation by WBRT of both PFS (15.4 vs 9.9 months, HR 0.79 95% CI 0.64-0.98, p = 0.034) and PFS from last HDMTX (19.4 vs 11.9 months, HR 0.72 95% CI 0.58-0.89, p = 0.003), but not of OS (32.4 vs 36.1 months, HR 0.98 95% CI 0.79-1.26, p = 0.98).
Although the statistical proof of noninferiority regarding OS was not given, our results suggest no worsening of OS without WBRT in primary therapy of PCNSL.
This study provides Class II evidence that in PCNSL HDMTX-based chemotherapy followed by WBRT does not significantly increase survival compared to chemotherapy alone. The study lacked the precision to exclude an important survival benefit or harm from WBRT.
The International Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) Registry (NCT01374360) was initiated to optimize patient management by collecting data regarding disease burden, progression, and clinical ...outcomes. Herein, we report updated baseline demographics, clinical characteristics, disease burden data, and observed trends regarding clone size in the largest cohort of Registry patients. Patients with available data as of July 2017 were stratified by glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-deficient granulocyte clone size (< 10%, ≥ 10%–< 50%, and ≥ 50%). All patients were untreated with eculizumab at baseline, defined as date of eculizumab initiation or date of Registry enrollment (if never treated with eculizumab). Outcomes assessed in the current analysis included proportions of patients with high disease activity (HDA), history of major adverse vascular events (MAVEs; including thrombotic events TEs), bone marrow failure (BMF), red blood cell (RBC) transfusions, and PNH-related symptoms. A total of 4439 patients were included, of whom 2701 (60.8%) had available GPI-deficient granulocyte clone size data. Among these, median clone size was 31.8% (1002 had < 10%; 526 had ≥ 10%–< 50%; 1173 had ≥ 50%). There were high proportions of patients with HDA (51.6%), history of MAVEs (18.8%), BMF (62.6%), RBC transfusion (61.3%), and impaired renal function (42.8%). All measures except RBC transfusion history significantly correlated with GPI-deficient granulocyte clone size. A large proportion of patients with GPI-deficient granulocyte clone size < 10% had hemolysis (9.7%), MAVEs (10.2%), HDA (9.1%), and/or PNH-related symptoms. Although larger GPI-deficient granulocyte clone sizes were associated with higher disease burden, a substantial proportion of patients with smaller clone sizes had history of MAVEs/TEs.
Summary
Paroxysmal nocturnal haemoglobinuria (PNH) is characterized by chronic, uncontrolled complement activation resulting in elevated intravascular haemolysis and morbidities, including fatigue, ...dyspnoea, abdominal pain, pulmonary hypertension, thrombotic events (TEs) and chronic kidney disease (CKD). The long‐term safety and efficacy of eculizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody that inhibits terminal complement activation, was investigated in 195 patients over 66 months. Four patient deaths were reported, all unrelated to treatment, resulting in a 3‐year survival estimate of 97·6%. All patients showed a reduction in lactate dehydrogenase levels, which was sustained over the course of treatment (median reduction of 86·9% at 36 months), reflecting inhibition of chronic haemolysis. TEs decreased by 81·8%, with 96·4% of patients remaining free of TEs. Patients also showed a time‐dependent improvement in renal function: 93·1% of patients exhibited improvement or stabilization in CKD score at 36 months. Transfusion independence increased by 90·0% from baseline, with the number of red blood cell units transfused decreasing by 54·7%. Eculizumab was well tolerated, with no evidence of cumulative toxicity and a decreasing occurrence of adverse events over time. Eculizumab has a substantial impact on the symptoms and complications of PNH and results a significant improvement in patient survival.
PDF
