Abstract
Background: Nelarabine has shown impressive single agent clinical activity in T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL), but has been associated with significant neurotoxicities in heavily pre-treated patients. We showed previously that it was safe to add nelarabine to a BFM-86 chemotherapy backbone (AALL00P2). Children's Oncology Group (COG) AALL0434 is a Phase III study designed to test the safety and efficacy of nelarabine when incorporated into a COG augmented BFM-based regimen, which increases exposure to agents with potential neurotoxicity compared to the historical AALL00P2 regimen. Procedure: AALL0434 included a safety phase to assess nelarabine toxicity. Patients with high-risk (HR) T-ALL were randomized to receive Capizzi-style escalating methotrexate (MTX) plus pegaspargase or high dose (HD) MTX with/without six five-days courses of nelarabine. We report results from 94 patients who participated in the initial safety phase of the study. Results: There were no differences in the incidence of peripheral motor neuropathies, sensory neuropathies or central neurotoxicities among those randomized to the nelarabine (n = 47) and non-nelarabine arms (n = 47). Conclusions: The addition of nelarabine to COG-augmented BFM chemotherapy regimen is safe and feasible. The ongoing AALL0434 Efficacy Phase will determine whether the addition of nelarabine treatment improves outcome for patients with T-ALL. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2015;62:1176-1183.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 1176-1183 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Pediatric Blood and Cancer |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jul 1 2015 |
Keywords
- BFM chemotherapy regimen
- Nelarabine
- T-ALL
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Hematology
- Oncology