Treatment May Alleviate Sickle Cell-Related Pain

HealthDay News — High-dose crizanlizumab treatment is associated with a significantly lower rate of sickle cell-related pain crises than placebo, according to a study published online on December 3 in The New England Journal of Medicine, to coincide with the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from December 3 to 6 in San Diego, CA.¹

Kenneth I. Ataga, MBBS., from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and colleagues conducted a phase 2 trial involving patients with sickle cell disease who were randomized to receive low-dose crizanlizumab, high-dose crizanlizumab, or placebo administered intravenously over a period of 52 weeks. A total of 198 patients at 60 sites underwent randomization.

The researchers found that the median rate of crises per year was 1.63 and 2.98 for high-dose crizanlizumab vs placebo, respectively. The median time to the first crisis and to the second crisis was significantly longer with high-dose crizanlizumab therapy than placebo (4.07 vs 1.38 months and 10.32 vs 5.09 months). The median rate of uncomplicated crises per year was 1.08 and 2.91 for high-dose crizanlizumab vs placebo, respectively.

“In patients with sickle cell disease, crizanlizumab therapy resulted in a significantly lower rate of sickle cell-related pain crises than placebo and was associated with a low incidence of adverse events,” the authors write.

The study was funded by Selexys Pharmaceuticals.

Reference

1. Solomon LR. Treatment and prevention of pain due to vaso-occlusive crises in adults with sickle cell disease: an educational void. Blood. 2008;111(3):997-1003.