Precision Therapy Versus Standard Therapy in AML and MDS in Elderly (PALM)

August 23, 2021 updated by: Anders Erik Astrup Dahm, University Hospital, Akershus

Precision Therapy Versus Standard Therapy in Acute Myeloid Leukaemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome in Elderly

This is a randomized clinical trial that randomizes between treatment principles. The study will investigate if precision therapy determined by a tumour board is better than standard treatment for acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in elderly. The tumour board will decide the precision therapy based on identified genetic changes that can guide customized therapy. There are currently 40-50 targeted therapies approved for various cancers in Norway. The precision therapy will be given in addition to the standard treatment.

The primary study objective will be to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a precision therapy strategy compared with standard treatment. Other objectives will mesaure efficacy and satety of the treatment, and impact on life quality of the patients.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) in the elderly are not curable since elderly patients usually do not tolerate intensive chemotherapy and allogeneic stemcell transplantation. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of DNA can find changes in tumor DNA that can be targeted by new drugs, so called "precision therapy". Precision therapy drugs are usually less toxic than standard treatment, and thus may be particularly well suited for elderly. Precision therapy is principally different from today's standard therapy since it will be individualized based on NGS from the tumor, while in standard therapy all patients receive the same treatment. It is unknown how a precision therapy strategy will perform compared with standard therapy in AML and high-risk MDS in the elderly. A Clinical Tumour Board will decide on the precision therapy.

Study design:

This is a prospective, open label, single centre, randomized phase II clinical trial. The study randomizes between standard treatment and precision therapy in unfit elderly patients with AML and high-risk MDS. Importantly, this study design is not a randomization between treatments as in a traditional clinical trial, but a randomization between treatment principles. This means that patients in the standard treatment arm will receive the same treatment, while patients in the precision arm will receive different treatments based on the profiling of the tumor cells. Since most of the precision therapies will be experimental, the study is designed so that the patients in both arms receive a period of standard treatment before randomization. This is to reduce the risk of patients not receiving effective treatment, so that the precision therapy can be tested safely. The standard treatment for AML and high-risk MDS in elderly may change during the study, therefore "standard treatment" is defined as the recommended treatment in Norway at any time point. This means that MDS patients and AML patients may have different standard therapy.

Diagnostic sampling and genomic profiling will be done on the bone marrow of all included patients before start of treatment and compared with germline DNA from buccal swab taken at the bone-marrow. Treatment with hydroxyurea prior to the initial standard treatment is allowed to get leukocytes below 30.

While the patient receive two initial 28 day cycles of standard treatment, NGS of the bone marrow samples are done and assessed in the diagnostic pipeline, followed by bioinformatics analysis. The information is then interpreted by a Clinical Tumour Board consisting of pathologists, haematologists, oncologists, molecular biologists and bioinformatician, the treating hematologist and study nurse. The Clinical Tumour Board makes the decision on targeted treatment.

After initial standard therapy bone marrow samples will be evaluated for response to treatment. Patients with progressive disease as defined by the European Leukemia Net will go out of the study and receive treatment according to investigators choice. Notably, the results from the Clinical Tumour Board will be available for these patients to provide best possible treatment.

Patients without disease progression are randomized in a stratified manner 2:1 after the initial treatment with standard therapy to either precision therapy advised by the Clinical Tumour Board or continuous standard therapy.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Anticipated)

36

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 Contact

  • Name: Anders Erik Astrup Dahm, MD,PHD
  • Phone Number: +4793059809
  • Email: aeadahm@gmail.com

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

  • Norway
      • Lørenskog, Norway
        • Recruiting
        • Akershus Universitetssykehus
        • Contact:
          • Anders Dahm, md.phd

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

60 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients with a diagnosis of AML and related precursor neoplasms according to WHO 2016 classification (excluding acute promyelocytic leukemia) including secondary AML (after an antecedent hematological disease and therapy-related AML (not if they have received antileukemic/mds treatment)), or
  • acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage according to WHO 2016 or a diagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with IPSS-R > 4.5.1
  • Patients 60 years and older.
  • Patients must NOT be eligible for intensive chemotherapy or allogeneic stem cell therapy (See Chapter 23.3)
  • WBC ≤ 25 x109/L (prior hydroxyurea allowed for a maximum of 14 days, stopped before start of treatment)
  • Adequate renal and hepatic functions unless clearly disease related as indicated by the following laboratory values:
  • WHO performance status 0, 1 or 2 for subjects ≥ 75 years of age OR 0 to 3 for subjects ≥ 60 to 74 years of age.
  • Life-expectancy above 3 months
  • Signed Informed Conscent
  • Male Subjects Only: Male subjects who are sexually active, must agree, from Study Day 1 through at least 90 days after the last dose of study drug, to practice contraception with condom. Male subjects must agree to refrain from sperm donation from initial study drug administration until at least 90 days after the last dose of study drug.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Acute promyelocytic leukemia.
  • AML with favourable cytogenetic or genetic changes in patients who are fit for intensive chemotherapy. Favourable genetics are: t(8;21)(q22;q22.1); RUNX1-RUNX1T1; inv(16)(p13.1q22) or t(16;16)(p13.1;q22); CBFB-MYH11; mutated NPM1 without FLT3-ITD or with FLT3-ITDlow†; Biallelic mutated CEBPA
  • Patients previously treated for AML or MDS (any antileukemic therapy or MDS treatment including investigational agents).
  • Patients where it is not possible to get bone-marrow for NGS, i.e., "dry tap".
  • Diagnosis of any previous or concomitant malignancy is an exclusion criterion: except when the patient completed successfully treatment (chemotherapy and/or surgery and/or radiotherapy) with curative intent for this malignancy at least 6 months prior to randomization.
  • Blast crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia.
  • Concurrent severe and/or uncontrolled medical condition (e.g. uncontrolled diabetes, infection, hypertension, pulmonary disease etc.)

  • Cardiac dysfunction as defined by:

    • Unstable angina or
    • New York Heart Association Class ≥ 2. Class 2 is defined as cardiac disease in which patients are comfortable at rest but ordinary physical activity results in fatigue,palpitations, dyspnea, or angina pain or
    • Unstable cardiac arrhythmias
  • Patients with a history of non-compliance to medical regimens or who are considered unreliable with respect to compliance with the study protocol and follow-up schedule.
  • Patients who have senile dementia, mental impairment or any other psychiatric disorder that prohibits the patient from understanding and giving informed consent.
  • Patients who do not understand the Written Informed Consent (e.g., language problems)
  • Current concomitant chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or immunotherapy; other than hydroxyurea.
  • Subject is known to be positive for HIV (HIV testing is not required).
  • Subject is known to be positive for hepatitis B or C infection with the exception of those with an undetectable viral load within 3 months. (Hepatitis B or C testing is not required).
  • AML subjects that has received strong and/or moderate CYP3A inducers within 7 days prior to the initiation of venetoclax treatment.
  • Subject has a malabsorption syndrome or other condition that precludes enteral route of administration. Additional exclusion criteria at the time of randomization
  • WHO performance status > 2 for subjects ≥ 75 years of age OR > 3 for subjects ≥ 60 to 74 years of age.
  • Progressive disease according to ELN criteria (see chapter 12 Response evaluation)
  • Initial treatment has made the patient eligible for allogeneic stemcell transplantation
  • In addition, it will be specific exclusion criteria for the patients receiving targeted therapies related to the Summary of Product Characteristics (SPC) of each drug.

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: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Standard therapy

This study is a randomization between treatment principles, not treatments, i.e., standard therapy vs precision therapy (tumor board determined).

Standard treatment for AML patients is Azacitidine + Venetoclax.*

*Only if venetoclax is available to the study at the time-point of study start. If venetoclax is not available AML patients will receive Azacitidine alone similar to MDS patients.

Standard treatment for MDS is Azacitidine.
Drug: Standard therapy

For AML patients: Venetoclax will be administered orally once daily Days 1 through 28, of a 28-day cycle, with a designated dose of 400 mg daily after ramp up in Cycle 1. During Cycle 1 Days 1 - 3, the dose of Venetoclax will ramp up from 100 mg on Day 1, 200 mg on Day 2, and 400 mg on Day 3. Azacitidine (100 mg/m2) is given once daily following administration of venetoclax for 5 days of every cycle, starting on Day 1 of each cycle.

For MDS patients: Azacitidine (100 mg/m2) is given once daily for 5 days of every 28 day cycle, starting on day 1 of each cycle.

Other Names:
  • Azacitidine + venetoclax for AML patients. Azacitidine for MDS patients.
Experimental: Precision therapy
This study is a randomization between treatment principles, not treatments, i.e., standard therapy vs precision therapy (tumor board determined). The precision therapy arm will receive standard therapy + tumor board decided precision therapy. The tumor board decided precision therapy can in principle be any therapy with marketing authorization in Norway.
Drug: Standard therapy

For AML patients: Venetoclax will be administered orally once daily Days 1 through 28, of a 28-day cycle, with a designated dose of 400 mg daily after ramp up in Cycle 1. During Cycle 1 Days 1 - 3, the dose of Venetoclax will ramp up from 100 mg on Day 1, 200 mg on Day 2, and 400 mg on Day 3. Azacitidine (100 mg/m2) is given once daily following administration of venetoclax for 5 days of every cycle, starting on Day 1 of each cycle.

For MDS patients: Azacitidine (100 mg/m2) is given once daily for 5 days of every 28 day cycle, starting on day 1 of each cycle.

Other Names:
  • Azacitidine + venetoclax for AML patients. Azacitidine for MDS patients.
Drug: Precision therapy
Precision therapy for both AML and MDS patients is standard therapy + tumor board determined precision therapy. The tumor board determined precision therapy can be all available drugs with a marketing authorization in Norway.
Other Names:
  • Standard therapy + tumor board decided precision therapy drug.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
cost-effectiveness of a precision therapy
Time Frame: 4-5 years
To evaluate the cost-effectiveness of a precision therapy strategy compared with standard treatment. The total cost of the treatment will be calculated and divided on health related quality of life (HRQoL)
4-5 years

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Event free survival
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Median event free survival, i.e., the number of days to death or progression of the disease (whichever comes first)with AML or MDS
4-5 years
Overall survival
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Median overall survival
4-5 years
Adverse events
Time Frame: 4-5 years
The number of adverse events.
4-5 years
Toxicity
Time Frame: 4-5 years
The number of adverse events with CTCAE grade 3 or more
4-5 years
Transfusion independence
Time Frame: 4-5 years

The number of erythrocyte- or thrombocyte-transfusionsCR: Bone marrow blasts < 5%; absence of blasts with Auer rods; absence of extramedullary disease; absolute neutrophil count >1.0 x 109/L; platelet count >100 x 109/L

CR with incomplete recovery (CRi):

All CR criteria except for residual neutropenia (<1.0 x 109/L) or thrombocytopenia (<100 x 109/L) PR:All hematologic criteria of CR; decrease of bone marrow blast percentage to 5% to 25%; and decrease of pretreatment bone marrow blast percentage by at least 50%
4-5 years
Budget impact
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Budget impact of providing targeted treatment to all eligible patients.
4-5 years
Overall response rate
Time Frame: 4-5 years
For AML overall response rate is defined as Complete remission (CR), CR with incomplete recovery (CRi), Morphologic leukemia-free state, or Partial remission. For MDS overall response rate is defined as Complete remission, Marrow Complete Response, or Partial remission.
4-5 years
Quality of life
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Difference in quality of life using EQ-5D questionnaire between treatment arms
4-5 years
Total costs
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Total costs of precision therapy.
4-5 years
Progression
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Median number of days to progression of MDS to AML.
4-5 years
Sequencing quality
Time Frame: 4-5 years
The fraction of sequencing results with quality good enough to make a decision.
4-5 years
Dry tap
Time Frame: 4-5 years
The fraction of patients who were excluded because of dry-tap.
4-5 years
Person staff time
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Person-time used to sequence
4-5 years
Person-time used to find possible precision therapy
Time Frame: 4-5 years
Person time on tumour board and preparations
4-5 years
Patients with actionable targets
Time Frame: 4-5 years
The fraction of patients with actionable targets.
4-5 years
MDS progression to AML
Time Frame: 4-5 years
The median time to AML progression for patients with MDS
4-5 years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

University Hospital, Akershus

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Anders Erik Astrup Dahm, MD, PHD, Akershus Universitetssykehus

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.

General Publications

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)

June 22, 2021

Primary Completion (Anticipated)

June 10, 2026

Study Completion (Anticipated)

June 10, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 27, 2021

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 23, 2021

First Posted (Actual)

August 27, 2021

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 27, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 23, 2021

Last Verified

August 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • PALM (Allergan)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

Yes

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.

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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