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The use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents with ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis in COMFORT-II: an open-label, phase 3 study assessing efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib versus best available therapy in the treatment of myelofibrosis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Anemia is considered a negative prognostic risk factor for survival in patients with myelofibrosis. Most patients with myelofibrosis are anemic, and 35-54 % present with anemia at diagnosis. Ruxolitinib, a potent inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and JAK2, was associated with an overall survival benefit and improvements in splenomegaly and patient-reported outcomes in patients with myelofibrosis in the two phase 3 COMFORT studies. Consistent with the ruxolitinib mechanism of action, anemia was a frequently reported adverse event. In clinical practice, anemia is sometimes managed with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). This post hoc analysis evaluated the safety and efficacy of concomitant ruxolitinib and ESA administration in patients enrolled in COMFORT-II, an open-label, phase 3 study comparing the efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib with best available therapy for treatment of myelofibrosis. Patients were randomized (2:1) to receive ruxolitinib 15 or 20 mg twice daily or best available therapy. Spleen volume was assessed by magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography scan. RESULTS:Thirteen of 146 ruxolitinib-treated patients had concomitant ESA administration (+ESA). The median exposure to ruxolitinib was 114 weeks in the +ESA group and 111 weeks in the overall ruxolitinib arm; the median ruxolitinib dose intensity was 33 mg/day for each group. Six weeks before the first ESA administration, 10 of the 13 patients had grade 3/4 hemoglobin abnormalities. These had improved to grade 2 in 7 of the 13 patients by 6 weeks after the first ESA administration. The rate of packed red blood cell transfusions per month within 12 weeks before and after first ESA administration remained the same in 1 patient, decreased in 2 patients, and increased in 3 patients; 7 patients remained transfusion independent. Reductions in splenomegaly were observed in 69 % of evaluable patients (9/13) following first ESA administration. CONCLUSIONS:Concomitant use of an ESA with ruxolitinib was well tolerated and did not affect the efficacy of ruxolitinib. Further investigations evaluating the effects of ESAs to alleviate anemia in ruxolitinib-treated patients are warranted (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier, NCT00934544; July 6, 2009).

SUBMITTER: McMullin MF

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4570722 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents with ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis in COMFORT-II: an open-label, phase 3 study assessing efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib versus best available therapy in the treatment of myelofibrosis.

McMullin Mary Frances MF Harrison Claire N CN Niederwieser Dietger D Demuynck Hilde H Jäkel Nadja N Gopalakrishna Prashanth P McQuitty Mari M Stalbovskaya Viktoriya V Recher Christian C Theunissen Koen K Gisslinger Heinz H Kiladjian Jean-Jacques JJ Al-Ali Haifa-Kathrin HK

Experimental hematology & oncology 20150915

<h4>Background</h4>Anemia is considered a negative prognostic risk factor for survival in patients with myelofibrosis. Most patients with myelofibrosis are anemic, and 35-54 % present with anemia at diagnosis. Ruxolitinib, a potent inhibitor of Janus kinase (JAK) 1 and JAK2, was associated with an overall survival benefit and improvements in splenomegaly and patient-reported outcomes in patients with myelofibrosis in the two phase 3 COMFORT studies. Consistent with the ruxolitinib mechanism of a ...[more]

PMID: 26380150

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Project description:ImportanceMyelofibrosis is a hematologic malignancy characterized by splenomegaly and debilitating symptoms. Thrombocytopenia is a poor prognostic feature and limits use of Janus kinase 1 (JAK1)/Janus kinase 2 (JAK2) inhibitor ruxolitinib.ObjectiveTo compare the efficacy and safety of JAK2 inhibitor pacritinib with that of best available therapy (BAT), including ruxolitinib, in patients with myelofibrosis and thrombocytopenia.Design, setting, and participantsFor this phase 3 randomized international multicenter study-the PERSIST-2 study-of pacritinib vs BAT, 311 patients with myelofibrosis and platelet count 100 × 109/L or less were recruited for analysis. Crossover from BAT was allowed after week 24 or for progression of splenomegaly.InterventionsPatients were randomized 1:1:1 to pacritinib 400 mg once daily, pacritinib 200 mg twice daily, or BAT.Main outcomes and measuresCoprimary end points were rates of patients achieving 35% or more spleen volume reduction (SVR) and 50% or more reduction in total symptom score (TSS) at week 24. Efficacy analyses were performed on the intention-to-treat efficacy population, comprising all patients with a randomization date allowing for week 24 data.ResultsOverall, 311 patients (mean [SD] age, 63.70 [9.08] years; 171 men [55%] and 140 women [45%]) were included in the study; 149 patients (48%) had prior ruxolitinib. The most common BAT was ruxolitinib (44 patients [45%]); 19 patients (19%) received watchful-waiting only. The intention-to-treat efficacy population included 75 patients randomized to pacritinib once daily; 74, pacritinib twice daily, and 72, BAT. Pacritinib (arms combined) was more effective than BAT for 35% or more SVR (27 patients [18%] vs 2 patients [3%]; P = .001) and had a nonsignificantly greater rate of 50% or more reduction in TSS (37 patients [25%] vs 10 patients [14%]; P = .08). Pacritinib twice daily led to significant improvements in both end points over BAT (≥35% SVR: 16 patients [22%] vs 2 patients [3%]; P = .001; ≥50% reduction in TSS: 24 patients [32%] vs 10 patients [14%]; P = .01). Clinical improvement in hemoglobin and reduction in transfusion burden were greatest with pacritinib twice daily. For pacritinib once daily, pacritinib twice daily, and BAT, the most common (>10%) grade 3 or 4 adverse events were thrombocytopenia (32 patients [31%], 34 patients [32%], 18 patients [18%]), and anemia (28 patients [27%], 23 patients [22%], 14 patients [14%]). In the pacritinib once daily, twice daily, and BAT arms, discontinuation owing to adverse events occurred in 15 patients (14%), 10 patients (9%), and 4 patients (4%).Conclusions and relevanceIn patients with myelofibrosis and thrombocytopenia, including those with prior anti-JAK therapy, pacritinib twice daily was more effective than BAT, including ruxolitinib, for reducing splenomegaly and symptoms.Trial registrationclinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT02055781.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Myelofibrosis (MF) is associated with a variety of burdensome symptoms and reduced survival compared with age-/sex-matched controls. This analysis evaluated the long-term survival benefit with ruxolitinib, a Janus kinase (JAK)1/JAK2 inhibitor, in patients with intermediate-2 (int-2) or high-risk MF. METHODS:This was an exploratory analysis of 5-year data pooled from the phase 3 COMFORT-I and -II trials. In both trials, patients could cross over to ruxolitinib from the control group (COMFORT-I, placebo; COMFORT-II, best available therapy). All continuing patients in the control groups crossed over to ruxolitinib by the 3-year follow-up. Overall survival (OS; a secondary endpoint in both trials) was evaluated using pooled intent-to-treat data from patients randomized to ruxolitinib or the control groups. OS was also evaluated in subgroups stratified by baseline anemia and transfusion status at week 24. RESULTS:A total of 528 patients were included in this analysis; 301 were originally randomized to ruxolitinib (COMFORT-I, n?=?155; COMFORT-II, n?=?146) and 227 to control (n?=?154 and n?=?73, respectively). The risk of death was reduced by 30% among patients randomized to ruxolitinib compared with patients in the control group (median OS, 5.3 vs 3.8 years, respectively; hazard ratio [HR], 0.70 [95% CI, 0.54-0.91]; P?=?0.0065). After correcting for crossover using a rank-preserving structural failure time (RPSFT) method, the OS advantage was more pronounced for patients who were originally randomized to ruxolitinib compared with patients who crossed over from control to ruxolitinib (median OS, 5.3 vs 2.3 years; HR [ruxolitinib vs RPSFT], 0.35 [95% CI, 0.23-0.59]). An analysis of OS censoring patients at the time of crossover also demonstrated that ruxolitinib prolonged OS compared with control (median OS, 5.3 vs 2.4 years; HR [ruxolitinib vs censored at crossover], 0.53 [95% CI, 0.36-0.78]; P?=?0.0013). The survival benefit with ruxolitinib was observed irrespective of baseline anemia status or transfusion requirements at week 24. CONCLUSIONS:These findings support ruxolitinib treatment for patients with int-2 or high-risk MF, regardless of anemia or transfusion status. Further analyses will be important for exploring ruxolitinib earlier in the disease course to assess the effect on the natural history of MF. TRIAL REGISTRATION:ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers, NCT00952289 and NCT00934544 .

Dataset Information

The use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents with ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis in COMFORT-II: an open-label, phase 3 study assessing efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib versus best available therapy in the treatment of myelofibrosis.

Publications

The use of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents with ruxolitinib in patients with myelofibrosis in COMFORT-II: an open-label, phase 3 study assessing efficacy and safety of ruxolitinib versus best available therapy in the treatment of myelofibrosis.

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