The Effect of Epoetin Alfa on the Anemia of Patients With Selected Cancers Receiving Chemotherapy

May 17, 2011 updated by: Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.

A Placebo-Controlled Study on the Effect of Epoetin Alfa in Patients With Malignancy Receiving Chemotherapy

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of epoetin alfa versus placebo in reducing or preventing the need for transfusions in anemic patients with cancer receiving chemotherapy, and to investigate possible quality-of-life benefits associated with the use of epoetin alfa. Epoetin alfa is a genetically engineered protein that stimulates red blood cell production.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Cancer patients often experience anemia due to the disease itself, chemotherapy, or both. Quality of life is also affected, in part because of the fatigue associated with anemia. Previous studies with epoetin alfa have suggested that achieving a higher hemoglobin level may improve quality of life and help patients live longer. This study is a 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study to compare the ability of epoetin alfa and placebo in reducing or preventing anemia and transfusions, and to investigate quality-of-life benefits associated with the use of epoetin alfa in patients receiving chemotherapy for selected cancers. During the double-blind period there will be two groups of patients: one group receiving epoetin injections under the skin 3 times per week (starting at 150 units per kilogram, adjusted if needed to a maximum of 300 units per kilogram) and other group receiving injections under the skin of a placebo of matching appearance and volume. If hemoglobin rises above 140 grams per liter (women) or 150 grams per liter (men), the dose will be adjusted to keep hemoglobin within a target range. A 12-week open-label extension of the study will be available to all patients completing the 12-week comparison period. The primary measure of effectiveness is determined by the proportion of patients with no transfusions after the first month. Additional measures of effectiveness include: the proportion of responders, the change of hemoglobin unrelated to transfusion, cumulative transfusion rate and proportion of patients transfused during the double-blind phase (excluding the first month), as well as the mean change over the study period in scores for energy, activity and overall quality of life. The results will be analyzed separately for non-platinum-containing chemotherapy and for different tumor types. Safety evaluations include assessments of the incidence and severity of adverse events, clinical laboratory tests, vital sign measurements, and physical examinations. The hypothesis of the study is that epoetin alfa is superior to placebo in improving anemia, reducing the number of transfusions, and improving quality of life. Epoetin alfa 150 units (U) per kilogram (kg) or placebo, injected under the skin 3 times weekly for 4 weeks; then either continued at 150 U/kg or adjusted to 300 U/kg according to hemoglobin levels for the remaining 8 weeks. Open-label (12 weeks): dose to maintain target hemoglobin range.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

201

Phase

  • Phase 3

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

18 years to 80 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Confirmed diagnosis of multiple myeloma, lymphoma, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, small-cell lung cancer, esophagus cancer, or prostate cancer
  • receiving treatment with chemotherapy, with at least 3 additional months of chemotherapy planned
  • a self-care performance score of 0 (fully active, no disease restriction) to 3 (capable of only limited self-care, confined to bed or chair more than 50% of waking hours)
  • life expectancy of at least 6 months
  • baseline hemoglobin <12 grams per deciliter and baseline count of <100,000 microliter for developing red cells

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Clinically significant disease other than cancer
  • evidence of uncontrolled hypertension or history of seizure
  • transfusion within 1 week of the study
  • radiotherapy within 2 weeks of study start
  • use of corticosteroid or steroid drugs during the study.

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: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Proportion of patients without transfusion after first month.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Proportion of responders, change of hemoglobin (not by transfusion), cumulative transfusion rate, proportion of patients transfused during the double-blind phase, excluding the first month; mean change score of baseline quality of life parameters; safety

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.

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.

Helpful Links

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

February 1, 1995

Study Completion (Actual)

May 1, 1998

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 22, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 22, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

December 26, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

May 18, 2011

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 17, 2011

Last Verified

February 1, 2011

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • CR005923

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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