Drug combo aims to break anemia cycle in MDS patients
NCT ID NCT04539236
First seen Jul 17, 2026 · Last updated Jul 17, 2026
Summary
This study tests whether combining two drugs, luspatercept and lenalidomide, can improve anemia in people with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) who lack a specific chromosome change. Participants take lenalidomide daily by mouth and receive luspatercept as a shot under the skin every three weeks. The goal is to find the best dose and see if the combination reduces the need for red blood cell transfusions.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- a combination of the drugs luspatercept and lenalidomide
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this combination could offer a new treatment option for anemia in lower-risk MDS patients who do not have a specific chromosome abnormality.
- What could go wrong
- This is an early-phase trial with a small number of participants, so the results may not apply to all patients. The combination may cause side effects or not improve anemia significantly.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
-
Phase 1/2
Runs two stages together: safety and dose first, then whether the treatment works.
- Participants
-
About 50 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
-
Nov 2021
- Expected to finish
-
Aug 2029
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
-
Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
-
18 years and older
- Sex
-
Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
-
Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: 1. Subject is ≥ 18 years of age the time of signing the informed consent form (ICF). 2. Subject must understand and voluntarily sign an ICF prior to any study-related assessments/procedures being conducted. 3. Documented diagnosis of MDS according to World Health Organization (WHO) / French-American-British (FAB) classification that meets International Prognostic Scoring System Revised (IPSS-R) classification (Greenberg, 2012) of very low, low, or intermediate risk disease; intermediate patients must have a blast percentage \<5% to be enrolled. 4. Subjects can be ESA-naïve, or refractory or intolerant to, or ineligible for, prior ESA treatment, as defined by any one of the following: * Refractory to prior ESA treatment - documentation of non-response or response that is no longer maintained to prior ESA-containing regimen, either as single agent or combination (eg, with G-CSF); ESA regimen must have been either: * recombinant human erythropoietin (rHu EPO) ≥ 40,000 IU/wk for at least 8 doses or equivalent; OR * darbepoetin alpha ≥ 200-500 μg Q1-3W for at least 4 doses or equivalent; * Intolerant to prior ESA treatment - documentation of discontinuation of prior ESAcontaining regimen, either as single agent or combination (eg, with G-CSF), at any time after introduction due to intolerance or an adverse event * ESA ineligible - Low chance of response to ESA based on endogenous serum erythropoietin level \> 200 U/L for subjects not previously treated with ESAs 5. If previously treated with ESAs, agents must have been discontinued ≥ 4 weeks prior to date of C1D1. 6. Requires RBC transfusions, as documented by the following criteria: * average transfusion requirement of ≥ 2 units/8 weeks of packed Red Blood Cells (pRBC)s preceding C1D1. * Hemoglobin levels at the time of or within 7 days prior to administration of a RBC transfusion must have been ≤ 10.0 g/dL for the transfusion to be counted towards meeting eligibility criteria. Red blood cell transfusions administered when Hgb levels were \> 10.0 g/dL and/or RBC transfusions administered for elective surgery will not qualify as a required transfusion for the purpose of meeting eligibility criteria. 7. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) score of 0, 1, or 2 (Appendix 1) 8. Females of childbearing potential (FCBP), defined as a sexually mature woman who: 1) has not undergone a hysterectomy or bilateral oophorectomy or 2) has not been naturally postmenopausal (amenorrhea following cancer therapy does not rule out childbearing potential) for at least 24 consecutive months (ie, has had menses at any time in the preceding 24 consecutive months), must: * Have two negative pregnancy tests (urine or serum) as verified by the Investigator prior to starting study therapy (unless the screening pregnancy test was done within 72 hours of C1D1). She must agree to ongoing pregnancy testing during the course of the study, and after end of study treatment. * If sexually active, agree to use, and be able to comply with, highly effective contraception without interruption, 5 weeks prior to starting investigational product, during the study therapy (including dose interruptions), and for 12 weeks after discontinuation of study therapy. 9. Male subjects must: * Agree to use a condom, defined as a male latex condom or nonlatex condom NOT made out of natural (animal) membrane (for example, polyurethane), during sexual contact with a pregnant female or a female of childbearing potential while participating in the study, during dose interruptions and for at least 12 weeks following investigational product discontinuation, even if he has undergone a successful vasectomy. 10. Subject must have a negative Coronavirus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) test completed ≤7 days prior to administration of protocol therapy. 11. Subject is willing and able to adhere to the study visit schedule and other protocol requirements. Exclusion Criteria: 1. Prior therapy with Lenalidomide. 2. Previously treated with either luspatercept (ACE-536) or sotatercept (ACE-011) 3. MDS associated with del 5q cytogenetic abnormality 4. Known clinically significant anemia due to iron, vitamin B12, or folate deficiencies, or autoimmune or hereditary hemolytic anemia, or gastrointestinal bleeding * iron deficiency to be determined by serum ferritin ≤ 15 μg/L and additional testing if clinically indicated (eg, calculated transferrin saturation \[iron/total iron binding capacity ≤ 20%\] or bone marrow aspirate stain for iron). 5. Prior allogeneic stem cell transplant 6. Known history of diagnosis of AML 7. Use of any of the following within 4 weeks prior to C1D1: * anticancer cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agent or treatment * other RBC hematopoietic growth factors (eg, Interleukin-3) * investigational drug or device, or approved therapy for investigational use. If the half-life of the previous investigational product is known, use within 5 times the half-life prior to C1D1 or within 5 weeks, whichever is longer is excluded. 8. Uncontrolled hypertension, defined as repeated elevations of diastolic blood pressure (DBP) ≥ 100 mmHg despite adequate treatment. 9. Prior history of malignancies, other than MDS, unless the subject has been free of the disease (including completion of any active or adjuvant treatment for prior malignancy) for ≥ 1 year. However, subjects with the following history/concurrent conditions involving in situ cancer (or similar) are allowed: * Basal or squamous cell carcinoma of the skin * Carcinoma in situ of the cervix * Carcinoma in situ of the breast * Incidental histologic finding of prostate cancer (T1a or T1b using the tumor, nodes, metastasis (TNM) clinical staging system) 10. Major surgery within 4 weeks prior to C1D1. Subjects must have completely recovered from any previous surgery prior to C1D1 11. History of stroke, deep venous thrombosis (DVT), pulmonary or arterial embolism within 6 months prior to C1D1 12. Pregnant or breastfeeding females 13. Subject has any significant medical condition, laboratory abnormality, psychiatric illness, or is considered vulnerable by local regulations (eg, imprisoned or institutionalized) that, in the opinion of the Investigator, would prevent the subject from participating in the study.
Get updates
Get notified about this study
Sign up to get updates when this study changes or when new studies for Myelodysplastic syndromes are added.
By submitting, you agree to our Terms of use
Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
-
The places running it
5 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
-
The official record
The full official record for this study. This one lists no contact details, but it is the first place any would appear.
-
A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
-
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio, 44195, United States
-
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Boston, Massachusetts, 02215, United States
-
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, 21287, United States
-
University of Miami
Miami, Florida, 33136, United States
-
University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, Texas, 75390, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Can a Three-Drug combo shield stem cell transplant patients from a dangerous immune attack?
- Could muscle loss predict blood cancer outcomes?
- Can a gentler chemo prep make stem cell transplants safer for blood cancer patients?
- Talking about the end: could guided conversations reduce futile cancer treatments?
- Can engineered immune cells outsmart Hard-to-Treat blood cancers?
- Can a new drug offer hope for blood cancers when chemo fails?