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Results from a global trial of a new drug, conducted at 148 sites in 23 countries, showed a 30% improvement in survival in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML).
The third phase of the clinical trial, called QUAZAR, showed that a drug called CC-486 significantly improved the survival of patients over the age of 55 living with the disease.
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AML is known to be one of the most serious types of leukemia in adults, and its incidence increases with age with a poor prognosis during current treatments, and the majority of older patients die from their disease in two years after diagnosis.
The global trial, led by Professor Andrew Wei of the Australian Center for Hematology at Monash University and a hematologist at Alfred Health, focused on people with acute myeloid leukemia (or also known as leukemia acute myeloid) over 55, “to identify new agents capable of improving outcomes in patients after completion of chemotherapy.”
Professor Andrew Wei says, “After intensive chemotherapy, the risk of AML relapse is high. Many elderly patients are not eligible to receive a stem cell transplant, so the less toxic option to reduce disease recurrence is desirable, rather than just watching and waiting for the disease to appear. “
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“Based on the results of the QUAZAR study, it is very exciting to think that by taking a relatively well tolerated tablet we can help reduce the risk of relapse and improve survival,” he added.
The trial involved 472 patients, with an average age of 68, who received either CC-486 or a placebo.
And those who received the drug, which has the added benefit of being a tablet that can be taken at home, had an average survival after treatment of about 25 months compared to those who did not, whose survival average was about 15 months. Month.
After Professor Wei presented the results at the American Society of Hematology meeting in the United States in December 2019, the Food and Drug Administration quickly approved the use of CC-486 in the United States in September of this year.
Professor Wei says the data presented in the New England Journal of Medicine may set a new standard of care for elderly patients with acute myeloid leukemia, “because our results show that CC-486 significantly delays recurrence of the disease. disease and thus prolongs the disease. ” To survive without affecting the quality of life. “
Professor Wei noted, “This is a very important breakthrough because the drug is easy to administer and means that adults with AML don’t have to spend more time in the hospital.”
Source: medicalxpress
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