Phase II Study of Arginine Butyrate With or Without Epoetin Alfa in Patients With Thalassemia Intermedia

November 4, 2005 updated by: Boston University

OBJECTIVES: I. Determine whether arginine butyrate with or without epoetin alfa can stimulate gamma-globin chain production to a degree that decreases anemia and results in hematologic improvement in patients with thalassemia intermedia.

II. Determine whether a proportional increase in gamma-globin synthesis and mRNA and an improvement in nonalfa and alfaglobin chain imbalance by at least 10% over baseline correlate with improved hematologic response in these patients when treated with this regimen.

III. Determine whether a decrease in hemolysis, as assayed by a decrease in LDH, compared to baseline levels correlates with improved hematologic response in these patients when treated with this regimen.

IV. Determine whether any particular genotypes are more responsive than others to this therapy in these patients.

V. Determine whether baseline epoetin alfa levels, gender, and/or baseline reticulocyte counts (or percent circulating nucleated erythroblasts) correlate with improved hematologic response in these patients when treated with this regimen.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

PROTOCOL OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients receive arginine butyrate IV over 6-14 hours on days 1-5 of weeks 1-4 and 7-10. Patients then receive maintenance arginine butyrate IV over 6-14 hours on days 1-4 of weeks 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, and 25.

Patients who have no medical contraindications (e.g., paraspinal extramedullary hematopoiesis, hypertension, or poorly controlled congestive heart failure) may continue therapy. Patients receive arginine butyrate IV over 6-14 hours on days 1-4 of weeks 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 37, and 39 and epoetin alfa intramuscularly (IM) or subcutaneously (SC) three times weekly on weeks 27-40.

Patients may continue to receive epoetin alfa IM or SC alone three times weekly on weeks 41-52. Patients with severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 7 g/dL) may receive epoetin alfa alone on weeks 1-12 before arginine butyrate induction therapy.

Patients who complete therapy at week 26 are followed every 2 weeks for 2 months. Patients who complete therapy at week 40 are followed monthly for 2 months.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

15

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

  • United Kingdom
    • England
      • London, England, United Kingdom, W1W 7EJ
        • University College London
  • United States
    • California
      • Oakland, California, United States, 94609
        • Children's Hospital of Oakland
    • Connecticut
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520-8028
        • Yale Comprehensive Cancer Center
    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • Clinical Hematology Branch
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02118
        • Boston University School of Medicine
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02118
        • Cancer Research Center
    • New York
      • New York, New York, United States, 10029
        • Mount Sinai School of Medicine

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 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT, CHILD)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

PROTOCOL ENTRY CRITERIA:

--Disease Characteristics--

  • Diagnosis of thalassemia intermedia with hemoglobin no greater than 10 g/dL Two beta thalassemia mutations
  • Must have undergone prior splenectomy or have no palpable spleen

--Prior/Concurrent Therapy--

  • At least 3 months since prior red blood cell transfusion

--Patient Characteristics--

  • Performance status: SWOG 0-2
  • Hematopoietic: No severe iron overload or ferritin greater than 5,000 ng/mL
  • Hepatic: Normal hepatic function No active hepatitis
  • Renal: Normal renal function
  • Other: Not pregnant or nursing Negative pregnancy test Fertile patients must use effective contraception Must be willing to have vascular access placed No viral disease No contraindication to study compliance

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

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Boston University

Investigators

  • Study Chair: Susan Park Perrine, Boston University

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 1, 1999

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 3, 2000

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 3, 2000

First Posted (ESTIMATE)

August 4, 2000

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (ESTIMATE)

November 8, 2005

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 4, 2005

Last Verified

July 1, 2004

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 199/15337
  • BUSM-4839

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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