Thursday, January 14, 2021
FDA Approves Onureg (azacitidine tablets) as Continued Treatment for Adults in First Remission with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Friday, February 5, 2021
Oral Azacitidine Benefits Some Older Adults With AML
In continuation of my update on azacitidine
For older patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who are in remission after chemotherapy, those receiving maintenance therapy with the oral formulation of azacitidine (CC-486) versus placebo had longer overall and relapse-free survival, according to a study published in the Dec. 24 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Andrew H. Wei, M.B., B.S., Ph.D., from Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues conducted a phase 3 randomized trial of CC-486 as maintenance therapy for patients with AML in first remission after intensive chemotherapy. A total of 472 patients aged 55 years and older who were in complete remission and were not candidates for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation were randomly assigned to receive either CC-486 or placebo once daily for 14 days per 28-day cycle (238 and 234 patients, respectively).
The researchers observed significantly longer median overall survival from the time of randomization with CC-486 versus placebo (24.7 versus 14.8 months). The corresponding median relapse-free survival was also significantly longer (10.2 versus 4.8 months). In most subgroups defined according to baseline characteristics, similar benefits of CC-486 were seen with respect to overall and relapse-free survival. During CC-486 treatment, overall health-related quality of life was preserved.
"Despite demonstrable survival advantages with CC-486 maintenance therapy, the risk of eventual relapse and death from AML remains problematic," the authors write. "Whether CC-486 may benefit patients with AML when it is used in other clinical contexts requires further investigation."
The study was funded by Celgene (a wholly owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb), which manufactures azacitidine.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azacitidine
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Cyclacel Presents New Phase 2 Data of Sapacitabine for MDS
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Agios Announces FDA Approval of Tibsovo as Monotherapy for Newly Diagnosed Adult Patients with IDH1 Mutant Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) Not Eligible for Intensive Chemotherapy
“Despite several new AML medicines approved in the last two years, many newly diagnosed patients are still not eligible for existing therapies or combination regimens because of age and other comorbidities,” said Chris Bowden, M.D., chief medical officer at Agios. “With today’s additional Tibsovo approval, we are now able to provide a targeted, oral therapy to patients with an IDH1 mutation who may not have other treatment options. In addition, we are continuing our work to expand the utility of Tibsovo in newly diagnosed AML patients in ongoing Phase 3 trials in combination with both intensive chemotherapy and azacitidine. I would like to thank the patients, nurses, physicians and caregivers who participated in the clinical trial, as well as the tremendous employees at Agios whose focus on patients made this possible.”
“The Phase 1 results for Tibsovo demonstrated that this oral, single agent therapy can induce durable responses in newly diagnosed AML patients with an IDH1 mutation,” said Gail J. Roboz, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director of the Leukemia Program and a member of the Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center*. “Many patients included in the study had features associated with particularly aggressive and challenging forms of AML, including secondary disease, adverse risk genetics and prior treatment with hypomethylating agents.”
- CR+CRh rate of 42.9% (12 of 28 patients) (95% CI: 24.5, 62.8).
- The CR rate was 28.6% (8 of 28 patients) (95% CI 13.2, 48.7) and the CRh rate was 14.3% (4 of 28 patients) (95% CI 4.0, 32.7).
- Median durations of CR and CR+CRh were not estimable, with 5 patients (41.7%) who achieved CR or CRh remaining on Tibsovo treatment (treatment duration range: 20.3 to 40.9 months) as of the data cutoff.
- 58.3% (7 of 12) of patients who achieved CR or CRh were in remission at 1 year after receiving treatment.
- For patients who achieved a CR or CRh, the median time to best response of CR or CRh was 2.8 months (range, 1.9 to 12.9 months).
- Among the 17 patients who were dependent on red blood cell (RBC) and/or platelet transfusions at baseline, 7 (41.2%) became independent of RBC and platelet transfusions during any 56-day post-baseline period.
- Of the 11 patients who were independent of both RBC and platelet transfusions at baseline, 6 (54.5%) remained transfusion independent during any 56-day post-baseline period.