Can a drug revive blood cell production in children with aplastic anemia?
NCT ID NCT03025698
First seen Aug 10, 2026 · Last updated Aug 11, 2026 · Updated 1 time
Summary
This phase II trial is investigating whether eltrombopag, a drug that stimulates platelet production, can help children with severe aplastic anemia when combined with standard immunosuppressive therapy. The study will enroll children with newly diagnosed, relapsed, or refractory disease to see how the drug is processed in the body and whether it improves blood cell counts. The goal is to find a more effective treatment approach for this serious condition.
What this could mean
Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only, not medical advice or a prediction.
- Active substance
- eltrombopag combined with immunosuppressive therapy (horse ATG and cyclosporine)
- What this could lead to
- If successful, this could offer a new treatment option for children with severe aplastic anemia, potentially improving blood cell counts and reducing the need for transfusions.
- What could go wrong
- This is a phase II trial with a small number of participants, so results may not be conclusive. Eltrombopag can have side effects, and the combination therapy may not work for all children.
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Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Phase 2
Tests whether the treatment actually works, and watches for side effects, in a larger group.
- Participants
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51 people
The number who actually took part.
- Started
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Sep 2017
- Finished
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Jan 2025
- Lead sponsor
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A company
The lead sponsor is a pharmaceutical, biotech, or medical-device company.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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1 year to 18 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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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: For Cohort A patients: * History of prior diagnosis of SAA, * Diagnosis of relapsed/refractory SAA or recurrent AA following treatment for SAA, as per Section 5.1. Patients with recurrent AA (e.g., losing their response) are exempt from meeting the diagnostic criteria for SAA relapse at the time of study enrollment, but must have been previously diagnosed with SAA. * Agree to concurrent eltrombopag treatment with appropriate, investigator-selected Immunosuppressive therapy (IST) with either hATG + CsA or CsA. For Cohort B patients: * Diagnosis of SAA at time of enrollment. * Patients must not have been previously treated with IST, and must meet all criteria as described in Table 5-1. * Patients must agree to treatment with hATG + CsA concurrent with eltrombopag. All patients eligible for inclusion in this study must meet all of the following criteria: * Age 1 to \<18 years. * Assessments to rule out congenital/inherited bone marrow failure syndromes and other causes of immune-mediated pancytopenia, which may be treated with transplant, must be completed prior to enrollment. * Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is not suitable or available as a treatment option or has been refused by the patient. (Candidacy for HSCT will be determined as per local practices or national guidelines.) * Bone marrow aspirate and biopsy at any time during the 4 weeks prior to first dose of eltrombopag. * Performance status score: Karnofsky ≥50 for patients 16 years of age and older or Lansky ≥50 for patients below 16 years of age. * Written informed consent must be signed by a parent or legal guardian prior to initiation of any study specific procedure. * Normal karyotype within 4 weeks prior to first dose of eltrombopag. If there are insufficient metaphases (\< 10) to determine karyotype, a repeat marrow aspirate is required. If upon repeat bone marrow aspirate, the number of metaphases is insufficient (\< 10), then FISH probes performed in marrow aspirate as per protocol must be normal. Exclusion Criteria: * Prior and/or active medical history of: * Fanconi anemia (via chromosome breakage test or growth arrest by flow cytometry) * Other known underlying inherited marrow failure syndrome (such as but not limited to Dyskeratosis Congenita, Congenital Amegakaryocytic Thrombocytopenia, or Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome). * Symptomatic Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria (PNH) and/or PNH clones \>50% of White blood cell (WBC) or Red blood cell (RBC) at time of enrollment. * Any cytogenetic abnormalities by karyotyping or FISH. * Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) * Other known or suspected underlying primary immunodeficiency * Any malignancy * Active infection not responding to appropriate therapy. * Prior eltrombopag or other thrombopoietin receptor (TPO-R) agonist treatment for at least 2 months and a lack of response. * Have any of the following out-of-range laboratory values: * Serum Creatinine \>2.5 × upper limit of normal (ULN), * Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \>3 × ULN. * Concurrent participation in an investigational study within 30 days prior to enrollment or within 5-half-lives of the investigational product, whichever is longer. Note: a parallel enrollment in a registry for patients with SAA or AA is acceptable. Pregnant or nursing (lactating) women. * Female patients of childbearing potential (e.g., are menstruating or could reach menarche during the study, this usually includes girls 9 years and older) who do not agree to abstinence or, if sexually active, do not agree to the use of contraception as defined in Section 7.2.1.2.6 (pregnancy section) of the protocol. If local regulations are more stringent than the contraception methods listed in this protocol to prevent pregnancy, local regulations apply and will be described in the ICF. * Male patients who are sexually active and do not agree to abstinence or to use a condom during intercourse while taking eltrombopag, and for 13 weeks after stopping treatment. * Patients, who in the investigators' opinion may be unwilling, are unable or unlikely to comply with the requirements of the study protocol. * Known immediate or delayed hypersensitivity reaction or idiosyncrasy to drugs chemically related to eltrombopag or its excipient, CSA, or hATG that contraindicates patient participation. * History of major surgery, serious illness, or traumatic injury within 4 weeks of first dose of study treatment. * Patients with known history of HIV positivity. * Patients with known history of hepatitis B or C positivity. * Any severe and/or uncontrolled medical conditions which could cause unacceptable safety risks or compromise compliance with the protocol, such as: • Impairment of gastrointestinal function or gastrointestinal disease that may significantly alter the absorption of study drug (e.g., ulcerative disease, uncontrolled nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, malabsorption syndrome),Active skin, mucosa, ocular or GI disorders of Grade \> 1. * Impaired cardiac function, such as: * Patients with a history of congenital long QT syndrome or known family history of long QTc syndrome, * Corrected QTc \>450 msec using Fridericia correction (QTcF) on the screening ECG (using triplicate ECGs), * Ventricular arrhythmias and or other cardiac arrhythmia not controlled with medication, * Other clinically significant cardio-vascular disease (e.g., congestive heart failure, uncontrolled hypertension, history of labile hypertension), * History of known structural abnormalities (e.g., cardiomyopathy).
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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.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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Aflac Cancerand Blood Disorders Ctr
Atlanta, Georgia, 30342, United States
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Ann and Robert H Lurie Childs Hosp
Chicago, Illinois, 60611, United States
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Arkansas Childrens Hospital
Little Rock, Arkansas, 72202, United States
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Childrens Hosp Boston Dept of Heme
Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
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Childrens Hospital Colorado
Aurora, Colorado, 80045, United States
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Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, Ohio, 44195, United States
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Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina, 27710, United States
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Hackensack University Medical Center SC-2
Hackensack, New Jersey, 07601, United States
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Indiana University
Indianapolis, Indiana, 46202-5225, United States
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Novartis Investigative Site
Hong Kong, 999077, Hong Kong
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Novartis Investigative Site
Lisbon, 1649-035, Portugal
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Novartis Investigative Site
Moscow, 117198, Russia
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Novartis Investigative Site
Saint Petersburg, 197022, Russia
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Novartis Investigative Site
Khon Kaen, THA, 40002, Thailand
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Novartis Investigative Site
Bangkok, 10400, Thailand
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Novartis Investigative Site
Bangkok, 10700, Thailand
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Novartis Investigative Site
London, WC1N 3JH, United Kingdom
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Phoenix Childrens Hospital
Phoenix, Arizona, 85016, United States
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Texas Childrens Cancer and Hematology Center
Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
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University of MI Health System
Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
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- Could a platelet-boosting drug shorten recovery after stem cell transplants?
- A common antioxidant may help platelets recover faster after stem cell transplant
- Could a cancer antibody reboot blood production in aplastic anemia?
- Triple therapy aims to overcome antibody barrier in Half-Matched stem cell transplants