The Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute (IDIBELL) has participated in a study that reveals that the addition of the drug Eltrombopag to conventional therapy with immunosuppressants autoimmune aplastic anemia “significantly improves the efficacy” of treatment.
The study, published in the magazine “The New England Journal of Medicine”, corresponds to a phase 3 clinical trial that has had the participation of the group leader at IDIBELL and head of the Clinical Hematology service of the Catalan Institute of Oncology (ICO) of L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona), Anna Sureda.
What is aplastic anemia?
Aplastic anemia is a bone marrow disorder that prevents the formation of blood cells and produces fatigue, susceptibility at infections Y bleeding, explained IDIBELL in a statement.
There are many factors that cause this type of anemia: treatments with chemotherapy, exposure to toxic substances, viral infections, among others, but the most common are autoimmune disorders that prevent the proper function of the bone marrow.
Immunosuppressive treatment is the standard therapy to deal with aplastic anemia, as it reduces the immune system’s attack on the bone marrow itself.
However, the efficacy of these drugs to reduce anemia is limited and between 10% and 15% of cases may be the cause of some kind of myeloid cancer.
A considerable improvement without additional side effects
The results of the study show that the drug combination the percentage of patients who respond to therapy increases, going from 41% with only immunosuppressants to 68% when adding Eltrombopag.
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Too improves response time to treatment going from almost nine months to three, and all without showing additional side effects.
“In the last thirty years, none of the efforts to improve therapy once morest aplastic anemia has been successful. This work shows for the first time a significant improvement in the quality and speed of haematological recovery”, Sureda celebrated.
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