Combination Therapy of Severe Aplastic Anemia

Treatment of Severe Aplastic Anemia With Combined Immunosuppression: Antithymocyte Globulin (ATG) and Cyclosporine A (CSA), and Mycophenolate Mofetil (MMF)

This study will test the safety and effectiveness of a combination of three drugs in treating severe aplastic anemia and preventing its recurrence. Two drugs used in this trial ATG and cyclosporine are standard combination therapy for aplastic anemia. This study will try to improve this therapy in three ways: 1) by altering the drug regimen to allow the drugs to work better; 2) by reducing the risk of kidney damage; and 3) by adding a third drug mycophenolate mofetil to try to prevent disease relapse.

Patients with severe aplastic anemia who do not have a suitable bone marrow donor or who decline bone marrow transplantation may participate in this study. Patients will have a skin test for ATG allergy, chest X-ray, blood test, and bone marrow aspiration before treatment begins. ATG will then be started, infused through a vein continuously for 4 days. Ten days after ATG is stopped, cyclosporine treatment will begin, taken twice a day by mouth in either liquid or capsule form and will continue for 6 months. Also, in the first 2 weeks of treatment, patients will be given a full dose of corticosteroid (prednisone) to prevent serum sickness that could develop as a side effect of ATG therapy. The dosage will be decreased after that. Mycophenolate will be started at the same time as ATG, in two daily doses by mouth, and will continue for 18 months.

Patients will be hospitalized at the beginning of the study. During this time, blood will be drawn at 3-week intervals and a bone marrow examination will be repeated 3 months after treatment has begun. Additional tests, including X-rays may be required. After hospital discharge, patients will be followed on an outpatient basis at 3-month intervals. The patients own physician will perform blood tests weekly and kidney and liver function tests every 2 weeks during cyclosporine therapy. Transfusions may be required initially.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Detailed Description

Severe acquired aplastic anemia (SAA) has a poor prognosis if untreated. Bone marrow transplantation is available to only a minority of patients due to lack of a matched sibling donor, advanced age of the patient, or cost. Clinical studies at NIH and elsewhere have demonstrated excellent response rates and improved survival with immunosuppressive treatments. Laboratory data implicate underlying cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated suppression of hematopoiesis as the likely proximal cause of disease in most patients. In earlier clinical protocols we treated SAA with cyclosporine A (CSA) (86-H-0007), antithymocyte globulin (ATG) (87-H-0124), and combined ATG and CSA (90-H-0146). While intensive immunosuppression is most effective, relapse is common and some patients also develop second hematologic complications like myelodysplasia. In this protocol, we modify our regimen by delaying the introduction of cyclosporine to promote ATG tolerizing effects and adding mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), a new agent that, like ATG may be relatively specific for activated lymphocytes, in an effort to reduce the high relapse rate.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

104

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

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

Study Locations

    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike

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

Ages Eligible for Study

3 months to 97 years (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

  • INCLUSION CRITERIA:

Only patients with SAA will be admitted, defined as:

Bone marrow cellularity less than 30%.

At least two of the following blood count findings: absolute granulocyte count less than 500/mm(3); platelet count less than 20,000/mm(3); reticulocyte count less than 60,000/mm(3).

Age greater than or equal to 1 years.

Weight greater than 12 kg.

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

Serum creatinine greater than 2 mg/dl or estimated creatinine clearance less than 40 ml/min.

Underlying carcinoma, recent history of radiation or chemotherapy.

Current pregnancy or unwillingness to be treated with oral contraceptives.

Inability to comprehend the investigational nature of the study.

Moribund status or concurrent hepatic, renal, cardiac, neurologic, or metabolic disease of such severity that death within 7 to 10 days is likely.

Evidence of other etiology than AA for bone marrow failure, including positive clastogenic stress cytogenetic assay for Fanconi anemia and marrow chromosome abnormalities typical of myelodysplasia.

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

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: single arm
ATG 40 mg/kg/d for 4 d; CsA 2 weeks after at 12 mg/kg/d for 6 months. MMF starting on first day of ATG at 600 mg/m2 twice daily for 18 months
Cyclosporine A
ATG
MMF
Experimental: single arm 2
ATG at 40 mg/kg/day for 4 days; MMF at 600 mg/m2 twice daily for 18 months and CsA at 12 mg/kg/day for 6 months starting 2 weeks after ATG and MMF
Cyclosporine A
ATG
MMF

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
reduction in 24-month relapse
Time Frame: 24 months
reduction in 24-month relapse
24 months

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

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

March 17, 2000

Primary Completion (Actual)

December 9, 2003

Study Completion (Actual)

May 12, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 18, 2000

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 18, 2000

First Posted (Estimate)

January 19, 2000

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 16, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 12, 2021

Last Verified

March 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

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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