Safety and Efficacy of Hemoglobin F Inducers in Patients With Beta Thalassemia

Official title

Safety and Efficacy of Hemoglobin F Inducers in Patients With Beta Thalassemia: a Prospective 12 Months Study

Overview

The aim of this study is to determine the safety and therapeutic effect of HbF inducers (combination therapy: thalidomide and hydroxyurea) on beta thalassemia patients. The main objectives of this study are: * To determine the therapeutic efficacy of HbF inducers (combination therapy: thalidomide and hydroxyurea) on hemoglobin level and blood transfusion in beta thalassemia patients. * To determine the safety of HbF inducers (combination therapy: thalidomide and hydroxyurea) in beta thalassemia patients * To determine effect of HbF inducers (combination therapy: thalidomide and hydroxyurea) on quality of life of beta thalassemia patients

Detailed description

This is a two-arm comparative study. One group is the interventional group, in which all patients will receive thalidomide and hydroxyurea. Low-dose Thalidomide will be administered to patients at a low dose of 0.5 to 4 mg/kg orally every day for 12 months until continuous transfusion-dependency or unacceptable toxicity occurs. The starting dose of hydroxyurea will be 10-20 mg/kg per day. The second group will be the control group for blood transfusion.

In the intervention group, 114 confirmed diagnoses of beta thalassemia ascertained by Hemoglobin Electrophoresis or HPLC report performed pre-transfusion or genetic testing profile (comprising PCR or HBB gene sequencing) suggestive of β-thalassemia syndrome will be included. To assess the therapeutic efficacy of HbF inducers (combination therapy: thalidomide and hydroxyurea), the number of blood transfusions and hemoglobin level will be assessed as per the given schedule.

. Adverse events will be recorded at each follow-up to assess the safety of the therapy. The patient/guardian/parent will be specifically asked about paresthesia, rash, constipation, unexplained infections, bleeding symptoms, headache, syncope, focal weakness, and behavioral changes. All participants will be asked to report any adverse reactions and will be questioned about adverse events during the study visit. EORTC QLQ C-30 URDU version, a self-administered questionnaire, will be filled by each participant at baseline and 6 months.

Interventions

• Drug Thalidomide
  Tab Thalidomide 0.5 to 4 mg/kg orally every day for 12 months
• Drug Hydroxy Urea
  Tab Hydroxyurea 10-20 mg/kg per day for 12 months

Primary outcome measures

• Improvement in the hemoglobin level [Time frame: 6 months]
• Decrease in transfusion requirement [Time frame: 6 months]

Secondary outcome measures (4)

• Serum Bilirubin levels [Time frame: 1 year]
• Change in ALT levels [Time frame: 1 year]
• Change in serum creatinine levels [Time frame: 1 year]
• Assess Quality of life by using EORTC QLQ-C30 [Time frame: 6 months]

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion criteria

• Confirmed diagnosis of Beta thalassemia Major (BTM) ascertained by Hemoglobin Electrophoresis or HPLC report performed pre-transfusion or genetic testing profile (comprising PCR or HBB gene sequencing) suggestive of β-thalassemia syndrome.
• All ages and both genders will be included
• Written informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Pregnancy or unwilling to follow contraception or planning conception (Enrolled female patients will be strictly advised to avoid pregnancy during the study period and until 6 months after thalidomide withdrawal.
• Hemoglobinopathies other than beta thalassemia
• History of neurological problems
• Inability to regularly follow up

Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.

Healthy volunteers: No

Study design

Allocation

Non-randomized

Model

Parallel assignment

Masking

Open label

Primary purpose

Treatment

Study locations

Pakistan · 1 center

• Riphah International University — Rawalpindi

Publications

• Chen JM, Zhu WJ, Liu J, Wang GZ, Chen XQ, Tan Y, Xu WW, Qu LW, Li JY, Yang HJ, Huang L, Cai N, Wang WD, Huang K, Xu JQ, Li GH, He S, Luo TY, Huang Y, Liu SH, Wu WQ, Lu QY, Zhou MG, Chen SY, Li RL, Hu ML, Huang Y, Wei JH, Li JM, Chen SJ, Zhou GB. Safety and efficacy of thalidomide in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia: a randomized clinical trial. Signal Transduct Target Ther. 202 PMID 34795208
• Ali Z, Ismail M, Rehman IU, Rani GF, Ali M, Khan MTM. Long-term clinical efficacy and safety of thalidomide in patients with transfusion-dependent beta-thalassemia: results from Thal-Thalido study. Sci Rep. 2023 Aug 21;13(1):13592. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-40849-4. PMID 37604857
• Tuo Y, Li Y, Li Y, Ma J, Yang X, Wu S, Jin J, He Z. Global, regional, and national burden of thalassemia, 1990-2021: a systematic analysis for the global burden of disease study 2021. EClinicalMedicine. 2024 May 6;72:102619. doi: 10.1016/j.eclinm.2024.102619. eCollection 2024 Jun. PMID 38745964
• Lu Y, Wei Z, Yang G, Lai Y, Liu R. Investigating the Efficacy and Safety of Thalidomide for Treating Patients With ss-Thalassemia: A Meta-Analysis. Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jan 11;12:814302. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2021.814302. eCollection 2021. PMID 35087410
• Shah S, Sheth R, Shah K, Patel K. Safety and effectiveness of thalidomide and hydroxyurea combination in beta-thalassaemia intermedia and major: a retrospective pilot study. Br J Haematol. 2020 Feb;188(3):e18-e21. doi: 10.1111/bjh.16272. Epub 2019 Nov 11. No abstract available. PMID 31710694

Identifiers

NCT: NCT07673302 · Riphah/IIMC/IRB/26/1048

Primary sources (government registries)

• ClinicalTrials.gov (US NIH)

View this study on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗