Venetoclax and Azacitidine for the Treatment of High-Risk Recurrent or Refractory Myelodysplastic Syndrome

NCT ID: NCT04160052

Last Updated: 2025-12-24

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
• Clinical Phase: PHASE1/PHASE2
• Total Enrollment: 51 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2019-10-01
• Study Completion Date: 2027-12-31

Brief Summary

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of venetoclax when given together with azacitidine in treating patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome that has come back (recurrent) or does not respond to treatment (refractory). Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as venetoclax and azacitidine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading.

Detailed Description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

I. To determine the safety and tolerability (phase 1) and overall response rate (ORR) (phase 2) of venetoclax in combination with azacitidine in patients with treatment-naive high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) with bone marrow excess blasts > 5% and patients that are relapsed/refractory to prior hypomethylating agent (HMA) therapy.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

I. Rate of complete remission (CR). II. Rate of marrow/morphologic complete remission (mCR). III. Rate of hematologic improvement (HI; erythroid/platelet/neutrophil responses).

IV. Rate of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence. V. Rate of platelet (PLT) transfusion independence. VI. Rate of cytogenetic response. VII. Rate of bone marrow blast response. VIII. Time to transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). IX. Duration of response (DOR). X. Overall survival (OS). XI. Progression-free survival (PFS). XII. Time to next MDS treatment (TTNT). XIII. Event-free survival (EFS).

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVE:

I. To investigate the effects of therapy on MDS and to identify biological markers of response to venetoclax and/or its combination with azacitidine.

OUTLINE: This is a phase I, dose-escalation study of venetoclax followed by a phase II study.

Patients receive venetoclax orally (PO) once daily (QD) on days 1-7 or 1-14 and azacitidine subcutaneously (SC) or intravenously (IV) over 15 minutes on days 1-5. Cycles repeat every 4-8 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days and then every 3-6 months for up to 5 years.

Conditions

Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia; Myelodysplastic Syndrome; Recurrent Myelodysplastic Syndrome; Refractory Myelodysplastic Syndrome; Therapy-Related Myelodysplastic Syndrome

Study Design

• Allocation Method: NA
• Intervention Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Primary Study Purpose: TREATMENT
• Blinding Strategy: NONE

Study Groups

Treatment (venetoclax, azacitidine)

Patients receive venetoclax orally PO QD on days 1-7 or 1-14 and azacitidine SC or IV over 15 minutes on days 1-5. Cycles repeat every 4-8 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Azacitidine

Intervention Type: DRUG

Given SC or IV

Venetoclax

Intervention Type: DRUG

Given PO

Interventions

Azacitidine

Given SC or IV

Intervention Type: DRUG

Venetoclax

Given PO

Intervention Type: DRUG

Other Intervention Names

5 AZC; 5-AC; 5-Azacytidine; 5-AZC; Azacytidine; Azacytidine, 5-; Ladakamycin; Mylosar; Onureg; U-18496; Vidaza; ABT-0199; ABT-199; ABT199; GDC-0199; RG7601; Venclexta; Venclyxto

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

• For phase I, patients can be HMA-naive high-risk MDS (Int-2 or high risk by the International Prognostic Scoring System [IPSS] with overall score >= 1.5) with excess blasts > 5%, or relapsed/refractory MDS post-HMA failure (defined as prior receipt of 4 cycles of HMA therapy with failure to attain a response, or progression of disease or relapse at any time after prior response to HMA therapy) with > 5% blasts
• For phase II, patients will be divided into 2 cohorts: Cohort A: patients with HMA-naive high-risk MDS (Int-2 or high risk by the IPSS with overall score >= 1.5) with excess blasts > 5%. Cohort B: patients with relapsed/refractory MDS post-HMA failure (defined as prior receipt of 4 cycles of HMA therapy with failure to attain a response, or progression of disease or relapse at any time after prior response to HMA therapy) with > 5% blasts are eligible. Note: Patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and therapy-related MDS are eligible. Hydroxyurea is allowed to lower the white cell count =< 10,000/ul prior to initiation of venetoclax
• Total bilirubin < 3 x upper limit of normal (ULN) unless increase is due to Gilbert's disease or leukemic involvement
• Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 4 x ULN unless considered due to leukemic involvement
• Creatinine < 2 x ULN unless related to the disease
• Signed written informed consent. Consent may be translated for Non-English Speaking Patients per institutional policy.
• Females must be surgically or biologically sterile or postmenopausal (amenorrheic for at least 12 months) or if of childbearing potential, must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test within 72 hours before the start of the treatment. Women of childbearing potential must agree to use an adequate method of contraception during the study and until 3 months after the last treatment
• Males must be surgically or biologically sterile or agree to use an adequate method of contraception during the study until 3 months after the last treatment

Exclusion Criteria

• Patients having received any prior BCL2 inhibitor therapy
• Patients with MDS with IPSS risk categories low or Int-1 (overall IPSS score < 1.5)
• Pregnant or breastfeeding
• Cognitively impaired patients

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

National Cancer Institute (NCI)

NIH

Sponsor Role: collaborator

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

Guillermo Garcia-Manero

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

Locations

M D Anderson Cancer Center

Houston, Texas, United States

Countries

United States

References

Bazinet A, Darbaniyan F, Jabbour E, Montalban-Bravo G, Ohanian M, Chien K, Kadia T, Takahashi K, Masarova L, Short N, Alvarado Y, Yilmaz M, Ravandi F, Andreeff M, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Ganan-Gomez I, Colla S, Qiao W, Huang X, McCue D, Mirabella B, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G. Azacitidine plus venetoclax in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia: phase 1 results of a single-centre, dose-escalation, dose-expansion, phase 1-2 study. Lancet Haematol. 2022 Oct;9(10):e756-e765. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(22)00216-2. Epub 2022 Sep 2.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 36063832 (View on PubMed)

Related Links

http://www.mdanderson.org

MD Anderson Cancer Center

Other Identifiers

NCI-2019-06873

Identifier Type: REGISTRY

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2019-0368

Identifier Type: OTHER

Identifier Source: secondary_id

2019-0368

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id