Clinical Trial: Alefacept and Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Study Status: Suspended
Recruit Status: Suspended
Study Type: Interventional

Official Title: Alefacept and Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Children With Non-Malignant Diseases Who Have Been Multiply Transfused: a Pilot Study

Brief Summary:

Allogeneic blood and marrow transplantation remains the only viable cure for children who suffer from many serious non-malignant hematological diseases. Transplantation, however, carries a high risk of fatal complications. Much of the risk stems from the use of high dose radiation and chemotherapy for conditioning, the treatment administered just prior to transplant that eliminates the patients' marrow and immune system, effectively preventing rejection of the donors' cells. Attempts to make blood and marrow transplantation safer for children with non-malignant diseases by using lower doses of radiation and chemotherapy have largely failed because of a high rate of graft rejection.

In many such cases, it is likely that the graft is rejected because the recipient is sensitized to proteins on donor cells, including bone marrow cells, by blood transfusions. The formation of memory immune cells is a hallmark of sensitization, and these memory cells are relatively insensitive to chemotherapy and radiation. Alefacept, a drug used to treat psoriasis, on the other hand, selectively depletes these cells. The investigators are conducting a pilot study to begin to determine whether incorporating alefacept into a low dose conditioning regimen can effectively mitigate sensitization and, thereby, prevent rejection of allogeneic blood and marrow transplants for multiply transfused children with non-malignant hematological diseases.


Detailed Summary:

There are a large number of serious non-malignant diseases of childhood, most of them congenital and rare, which can be corrected by HSCT. These diseases are all characterized by deficiencies, either in number or in function, of marrow derived cells. These diseases usually affect immune or blood cells and frequently involve transfusion therapy with erythrocytes, platelets or granulocytes. Examples of such diseases include sickle cell disease, thalassemia major, Glanzmann thrombasthenia, Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome, chronic-granulomatous disease, severe congenital neutropenia, leukocyte adhesion deficiency, Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, Diamond-Blackfan anemia, Fanconi anemia, dyskeratosis-congenita, Chediak-Higashi syndrome, and severe aplastic anemia.

Allogeneic blood HSCT, whether performed for a malignant or a non-malignant condition, relies on the use of a pre-transplant conditioning regimen. Traditionally, very high doses of chemotherapy or total body irradiation have been utilized as conditioning. The use of intensive conditioning, which, practically speaking eliminates the host marrow and immune system, however, can produce serious and sometimes fatal infections and injuries to vital organs, such as the liver and lung. In children, the use of intensive conditioning can also produce serious late effects, including hypogonadism, stunted growth, impaired cognitive development and secondary malignancies.

Over the past decade, there has been a move to minimize the risk for such complications by reducing the intensity of conditioning regimens. Added impetus for reducing conditioning intensity arose from the observation in transplantation for thalassemia and sickle cell disease that sustained mixed chimerism, that is partial donor engraftment, is usually sufficient to cure non-malignant diseases. This observation suggested that
Sponsor: Emory University

Current Primary Outcome: Feasibility of Alefacept Pre-conditioning, Measured by Number of Subjects With Full Donor Engraftment [ Time Frame: Two years post-transplant ]

All subjects received alefacept prior to hematopoietic stem cell transplantation and were followed up to at least two years after transplantation to ensure successful engraftment.


Original Primary Outcome:

  • Obtain preliminary estimates of its safety and efficacy [ Time Frame: average time is 3 years post transplant ]
    Conduct a pilot trial in children with serious non-malignant diseases who have been multiply transfused to investigate the use of alefacept as a conditioning agent
  • Obtain preliminary estimates of its effect on central memory (Tcm) and effector memory (Tem) T cells. [ Time Frame: average time is 3 years post transplant ]
    Conduct a pilot trial in children with serious non-malignant diseases who have been multiply transfused to investigate the use of alefacept as a conditioning agent


Current Secondary Outcome:

  • Number of Participants That Expressed Grade 2 or 3 Regimen-Related Toxicity [ Time Frame: Day 42 post-transplant ]
    Regimen-related toxicity was measured using the Bearman criteria. The Bearman criteria grades toxicity levels at Grade 1, Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4. In this system, grade I toxicity is reversible without treatment and grade 2 is not life threatening, but requires treatment. Grade 3 requires life-support intervention and grade 4 is fatal. All regimen-related toxicities were determined to be unlikely attributable to the study drug.
  • Number of Participants That Expressed Successful Neutrophil Engraftment [ Time Frame: Day 100 post-transplant ]
    Neutrophil engraftment was assessed with absolute neutrophils >500*10^8/kg by 100 days post transplant. Neutrophils were counted by performing a complete blood cell count (CBC).
  • Incidence of Greater Than or Equal to 85% CD3 Donor Chimerism [ Time Frame: Day 30 post-transplant ]
    CD3 chimerism was measured from peripheral blood lymphocytes 30 days post transplant. DNA chimerism analysis was performed by amplified fragment length polymorphism.
  • Incidence of 100% CD33 Donor Chimerism [ Time Frame: Day 30 post-transplant ]
    CD33 chimerism was measured from peripheral blood lymphocytes 30 days post transplant. DNA chimerism analysis was performed by amplified fragment length polymorphism.
  • Number of Participants Who Experienced Acute Graft-versus-host Disease (aGVHD), Measured by NIH Consensus Criteria (NCC) Score: Grade II-IV [ Time Frame: Day 30 post-transplant ]
    Cumulative Incidence of Grade II-IV aGVHD Score at 30 Days. The NIH Consensus grading and severity criteria includes physical assessments of skin, oral cavity, eyes, gynecological and laboratory data and patient reports. Each domain is scored from Grade 0 (no involvement) to Grade IV (severe involvement).
  • Number of Participants Who Experienced Chronic Graft-versus-host Disease (cGVHD), Measured by the NIH Criteria Consensus (NCC) [ Time Frame: Day 100 post-transplant ]
    The severity criteria of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) recommended by the NIH Criteria Consensus (NCC) was employed. The number of organs involved and the severity of the disease in these organs dictated the global summary score used to define the disease as mild, moderate, or severe. Mild disease indicates one or two organs involved each with a maximal score of 1. Moderate disease indicates three or more organs involved with a score of 2 in any individual organ, or lung involvement with a score of 1. Severe global GVHD is defined by a score of 3 in any organ, or a lung score of 2.


Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: Emory University

Dates:
Date Received: September 15, 2010
Date Started: September 2010
Date Completion:
Last Updated: April 26, 2016
Last Verified: April 2016