Efficacy of Dose-Adjusted Regimen on Survival in Frail Adults With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (EPOCH)

November 26, 2025 updated by: Christian Omar Ramos-Peñafiel, MD, PhD, Hospital General de Mexico

Efficacy on Progression Free Overall Survival of a Dose-Adjusted Regimen in Frail Adult Patients With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is characterized by the abnormal proliferation of immature precursor cells, disrupting normal hematopoiesis and causing severe anemia and thrombocytopenia due to genetic mutations. Conventional treatment with intensive chemotherapy is limited for elderly patients or those with comorbidities, adversely affecting their survival. In Mexico, alongside a higher incidence, treatment-related complications are more frequent, particularly with drugs such as asparaginase or anthracyclines, which limits therapeutic efficacy. The transition to infusion-based therapies promises to reduce these complications, improve treatment tolerance, and optimize clinical outcomes, marking a significant advancement in the management of this disease. Modifying treatment regimens toward infusion therapies has the potential to significantly reduce adverse complications, enhance treatment tolerance, and ultimately improve clinical outcomes for patients who cannot benefit from conventional intensive regimens. This approach not only aims to optimize treatment effectiveness but also to minimize associated risks, thus representing an important advancement in the management of acute lymphoblastic leukemia in clinical settings such as those in Mexico

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in adults represents a therapeutic challenge, particularly in patients with high-risk factors, clinical frailty, or socioeconomic limitations that hinder adherence to intensive outpatient regimens. While protocols such as HyperCVAD have been widely used, their toxicity can be significant in certain subgroups. In this context, the EPOCH regimen has been explored as an inpatient consolidation alternative that allows a gradual transition toward less toxic regimens, with potential benefits in vulnerable populations.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
45

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Mexico
    • Mexico City
      • Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico, 06720
        • Recruiting
        • Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Patients with a de novo diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia, considered frail according to the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Performance Status Scale or with a Karnofsky Performance Score below 80%, indicating a high risk of severe chemotherapy-related toxicity, or patients who have received induction therapy and experienced severe and limiting toxicity.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria
  • Older than 18 years old
  • ECOG Performance Status Scale >1 or the Karnofsky Performance Status (KPS) <80%.
  • Comorbidities: diabetes mellitus, arterial hypertension, thrombotic events, endocrine disorders, or any condition that hinders the administration of full-dose chemotherapy.
  • Toxicity prior to a standard chemotherapy regimen.
  • Both genders
  • Over 18 years of age
  • No upper age limit
  • Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

´- Patients refractory to induction treatment

  • Patients who have previously received a low-intensity regimen due to comorbidities
  • Biphenotypic leukemia
  • CNS involvement at diagnosis requiring radiotherapy
  • Patients whose survival is expected to be less than 48 hours due to leukemiarelated complications
  • Patients with a history of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke or severe neurological deterioration
  • Pregnant patients

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Frail ALL patients by ECOG >1 or KPS <80%, or with severe toxicity from induction therapy
Patients newly diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) who are considered clinically frail based on an ECOG performance status score greater than 1 or a Karnofsky score below 80%, indicating a high risk of severe chemotherapy-related toxicity. This group also includes patients who have previously received induction therapy and experienced severe, limiting toxicity that prevents continuation of intensive treatment regimens. These criteria identify a vulnerable population for whom standard chemotherapy may not be suitable, necessitating alternative, less intensive treatment approaches to reduce toxicity while maintaining therapeutic efficacy
Drug: Patients meeting criteria will receive DA-EPOCH via central line for 5 days every 21 days, with monitoring, supportive care, transfusions, prophylaxis, and G-CSF for 5 doses per cycle
After patient selection and confirmation of inclusion criteria, the DA-EPOCH treatment regimen will be initiated. It is typically administered through a central line over 5 days, during which adverse events will be closely monitored. Each treatment cycle lasts 21 days. All patients will receive the same level of care as those undergoing high-intensity chemotherapy, including monitoring of transfusion needs, supportive care with prophylactic medications, and the administration of colony-stimulating factors, with a total of 5 doses per cycle. The treatment regimen consists of six cycles, during which intrathecal chemotherapy will be administered to prevent central nervous system relapse. This prophylaxis will be given between each cycle. After completing the six cycles, patients will continue with a maintenance regimen consisting of 6-mercaptopurine at 50 mg/m² of body surface area from Monday to Friday, along with weekly intramuscular methotrexate (50 mg), total duration for 2 years

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
To determine the proportion of overall survival and disease-free survival
Time Frame: From enrollment until 1 year after the end of treatment.
For the survival analysis, the Kaplan-Meier method will be used, which is a non-parametric technique employed to estimate the survival function from time-to-event data.
From enrollment until 1 year after the end of treatment.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
To determine the proportion of complete remissions (<5% blasts per field) after the first 4 weeks of induction therapy and the proportion of measurable residual disease (proportion of cells) at 6 weeks.
Time Frame: Complete Remision (CR) at 4 weeks after induction and measurable residual disease (MRD) at 6 weeks of treatment.
Complete remission (CR) will be evaluated by bone marrow aspiration and optical microscopy review at 4 weeks after induction, while measurable residual disease (MRD) will be assessed also by bone marrow aspiration ans measured by flow cytometry at 6 weeks of treatment.
Complete Remision (CR) at 4 weeks after induction and measurable residual disease (MRD) at 6 weeks of treatment.
To establish the proportion of serious adverse events associated with the chemotherapy regimen.
Time Frame: From enrollment until 1 year after the end of treatment.
These will be graded according to the adverse events scale. The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) adverse events scale, known as the 'NCCN Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events' (NCCN CTCAE), is a tool used to classify the severity of adverse events that occur during clinical trials of cancer treatments.
From enrollment until 1 year after the end of treatment.
To describe the proportion of severe neutropenia events and treatment-related mortality
Time Frame: From enrollment until 1 year after the end of treatment.
Neutropenia events associated with chemotherapy will be quantified in each cycle, and their proportion will be established per administered cycle
From enrollment until 1 year after the end of treatment.
To describe the length of hospital stay in days.
Time Frame: From hospital admission to the last day of stay for each administered cycle (each cycle is 21 days).
The days of hospital stay will be quantified for each cycle of chemotherapy.
From hospital admission to the last day of stay for each administered cycle (each cycle is 21 days).

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Hospital General de Mexico

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Christian O Ramos, MD, Hospital General de México Dr. Eduardo Liceaga

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
July 23, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
July 23, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
July 26, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
August 27, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 26, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
December 2, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 2, 2025

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 26, 2025

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
September 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • HGMexicoEduardoLiceaga

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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