Cancer
Eltrombopag during induction chemotherapy in older patients with newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia is safe and reduces platelet transfusion requirements: The EPAG-2015 French Innovative Leukemia Organization phase 2 randomized trial
By Pigneux A, Dumas PY, Bernard M and 22 others.
Abstract
Background
Elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) treated with intensive chemotherapy are at risk of developing thrombopenia, which requires platelet transfusions. It would be interesting to provide them with thrombopoietin receptor agonists such as eltrombopag.
Methods
The EPAG-2015 multicenter phase 2 trial (18 French hospitals from October 2018 to June 2021) blindly randomized elderly patients (aged ≥60 years) with placebo or eltrombopag administered on Day 11 after induction chemotherapy and continued until AML response evaluation (Day 45) or a platelet count of >100 × 109/L. A cohort of 110 patients with a median age of 70 years was included and randomized (55 per arm) to receive placebo or eltrombopag.