Lenalidomide in Older Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Without Chromosome 5q Abnormalities

Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute Clinical Trial

Official title: Phase II Trial of Lenalidomide in Older Patients (>/= 60 Years) With Untreated Acute Myeloid Leukemia Without Chromosome 5q Abnormalities

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

This study is designed to test the safety and efficacy of lenalidomide in older patients (age > 60 years) with untreated acute myeloid leukemia without chromosomal abnormalities involving 5q.

Clinical Trial Description

The incidence of AML increases with age, and current treatment options for the older patient population with newly diagnosed AML (AML >= 60) is limited, all with poor outcomes. AML >= 60 patients are more likely to have poor-risk cytogenetics abnormalities, and many have a preceding myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Traditional induction chemotherapy approaches in AML with cytarabine and anthracyclines yield remissions in 45-60% of AML >= 60, however the vast majority of these patients relapse with a median survival of about 9 months. These patients are rarely candidates for potentially curative allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Many untreated AML >= 60 patients are not candidates for aggressive therapy, and those who do receive therapy have a significant induction mortality of 10-20%, and significant hematologic toxicity occurs in over 30%, with no change in overall survival compared with supportive care. AML >= 60 patients with favorable risk cytogenetics have a modest improvement in prognosis, for example with a 5 year overall survival of ~20%, compared with 0% in other cytogenetic categories. Thus, all eligible patients with AML >= 60 should be recommended a clinical trial, regardless of whether they would be offered generally ineffective traditional induction chemotherapy. More effective and less toxic therapies are needed for the treatment of AML in this older patient population, indeed the preferred first line therapy in the national cancer center network (NCCN) guidelines for AML is a clinical trial.

In trials of lenalidomide in patients with MDS the dose of lenalidomide has been reduced for myelotoxicity and/or thrombocytopenia. However, current paradigms for the therapy of acute myeloid leukemia are based on using high doses of myelosuppressive chemotherapy and supporting the patient through a 4-5 weeks period of neutropenia/thrombocytopenia in an attempt to eliminate the malignant clone. Based on its efficacy in the related myeloid disorder MDS, and the close relationship between MDS and AML in patients > 60, this trial employs the same paradigm of myelosuppressive therapy using high dose lenalidomide instead of chemotherapy. Importantly, within the MDS trials using low doses of lenalidomide, responses were observed in 3/9 (33%) of patients with excess blasts (RAEB/RAEB-t), which are now classified as evolving into AML or AML. This suggests that the therapeutic effect of lenalidomide occurs in the setting of a large percentage of blasts, such as AML, although the dose and schedule of lenalidomide administration is different. The response of AML >= 60 patients to the proposed high dose lenalidomide regimen is unknown. Following high dose lenalidomide, in those patients that have a response, we propose using a lower dose maintenance strategy similar to the FDA approved dosing for MDS. The maintenance phase will include standard dose reductions for unacceptable toxicities. ;

Study Design

Allocation: Non-Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Safety/Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Leukemia
• Leukemia, Myeloid
• Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute

• NCT number: NCT00546897
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Washington University School of Medicine
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 2
• Start date: February 2007
• Completion date: March 2012