Originally published as JCO Early Release 10.1200/JCO.2008.21.7356 on August 3 2009

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Pomalidomide Is Active in the Treatment of Anemia Associated With Myelofibrosis

From the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN; M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX; Division of Hematology, Fondazione Istituto di Ricovero e Cura a Carattere Scientifico Policlinico San Matteo, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy; Weill-Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY; Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA; Hospital Clinic, Institut d'Investigatacions Biomedique, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain; Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, FL; Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA; Institute of Pathology, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany; University of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Celgene Corporation, Summit, NJ.

Corresponding author: Ayalew Tefferi, MD, Mayo Clinic, 200 First St SW, Rochester MN 55905; email: tefferi.ayalew{at}mayo.edu.

Purpose Thalidomide and lenalidomide can alleviate anemia in myelofibrosis. However, their value is undermined by their respective potential to cause peripheral neuropathy and myelosuppression. We therefore evaluated the safety and therapeutic activity of another immunomodulatory drug, pomalidomide.

Methods In a phase II randomized, multicenter, double-blind, adaptive design study, four treatment arms were evaluated: pomalidomide (2 mg/d) plus placebo, pomalidomide (2 mg/d) plus prednisone, pomalidomide (0.5 mg/d) plus prednisone, and prednisone plus placebo. Pomalidomide was administered for up to 12 28-day treatment cycles. Prednisone (30 mg/d) was given in a tapering dose schedule during the first three cycles. Response was assessed by International Working Group criteria.

Results Eighty-four patients with myelofibrosis-associated anemia were randomly assigned to the aforementioned treatment arms: 22, 19, 22, and 21, respectively. Response in anemia was documented in 20 patients, including 15 who became transfusion independent. Response rates in the four treatment arms were 23% (95% CI, 5% to 41%), 16% (95% CI, 0% to 33%), 36% (95% CI, 16% to 56%), and 19% (95% CI, 2% to 36%). The corresponding figures for patients receiving 3 cycles of treatment (n = 62) were 38%, 23%, 40%, and 25%. Response to pomalidomide with or without prednisone was durable (range, 3.2 to 16.9+ months) and significantly better in the absence of leukocytosis (37% v 8%; P = .01); JAK2V617F or cytogenetic status did not affect response. Grade 3 toxicities were infrequent and included (in each treatment arm) neutropenia (9%; 16%; 5%; 5%), thrombocytopenia (14%; 16%; 9%; 5%), and thrombosis (9%; 5%; 0%; 0%).

Conclusion Pomalidomide therapy at 0.5 or 2 mg/d with or without an abbreviated course of prednisone is well tolerated in patients with myelofibrosis and active in the treatment of anemia.

Authors' disclosures of potential conflicts of interest and author contributions are found at the end of this article.

Clinical Trials repository link available on JCO.org.

Clinical trial information can be found for the following: NCT00463385 [ClinicalTrials.gov] .

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