This is a promising new agent for ITP, where the median time of 50K platelets is one week. This is a small study though, awaiting more data in the future.
This great Italian study uses eltrombopag in patients with low/intermediate risk MDS. The intervention arm had significantly fewer minor bleeding events and better platelet counts that were durable. Those with higher baseline Hb’s seemed to respond better to therapy, particularly if the Hb was >8g/dL. AML evolution/blast progression was not more common in the treatment arm, which refutes some prior concerns.
Benign heme article of the month– A significant portion of patients with stable platelet counts can be gently tapered from TPO-agonists. Those who needed to be re-challenged had a good response. This is likely an underutilized strategy.
Thought provoking article regarding a non-antibody mediated mechanism in chronic ITP.
Interesting prospective study assessing outcomes in ITP in pregnant women while measuring neonatal ITP in the developing child, with a control of non-pregnant women for comparison. Pregnancy-ITP was associated with a 2.7x higher rate of recurrent disease. However, bleeding was similar in pregnant vs. non-pregnant women. NITP risk was associated with more severe ITP disease in the mother and the severity of the disease, as well as prior h/o ITP in the mother.
Another new (potential) option for refractory ITP patients, efgartigimod is an IgG1-Fc-fragment engineered to reduce IgG autoantibody levels. 131 patients enrolled and 67% had >=3 prior lines of therapy, placebo controlled study. The study group had a 90% sustained platelet response, with >50% having plt counts of >30k >= 7 days apart.
Interesting drug and mechanism of action in the setting of ITP. Tolerability, efficacy appeared promising. Larger studies and post-marketing RWE will be of help in analyzing this treatment option.
FCS Hematology Oncology Review creates a platform for our physician network to observe the most recent articles and studies available in the oncology and hematology world. By sharing these articles we are building our wealth of knowledge of new observations and treatments as they come available.
