Efficacy and safety of lipegfilgrastim compared with placebo in patients with non-small cell lung cancer receiving chemotherapy: post hoc analysis of elderly versus younger patients

Purpose Lipegfilgrastim, a glycoPEGylated recombinant granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), reduces neutropenia duration and febrile neutropenia (FN) incidence in patients with cancer receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. A phase 3 trial of lipegfilgrastim was conducted in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) receiving cisplatin/etoposide (which produces mild-to-moderate myelosuppression). Because patients aged >65 years are at higher risk for FN versus younger patients, this post hoc analysis compared outcomes in elderly (>65 years) versus younger participants in this trial. Methods Patients were randomized 2:1 to receive a once-percycle single subcutaneous injection of lipegfilgrastim 6 mg or placebo, with up to 4 cycles of every-3-week cisplatin (day 1) and etoposide (days 1–3). The primary end point was FN incidence during cycle 1. Outcomes were compared across treatment groups and by age groups (≤65 and >65 years). Results For patients aged ≤65 years, FN incidence during cycle 1 was similar in the lipegfilgrastim and placebo groups (3.0 vs 3.2 %, respectively), whereas for elderly patients, there was a reduction in FN incidence with lipegfilgrastim (0 vs 13.3 %, respectively). In both age subgroups, lipegfilgrastim showed a propensity to reduce the incidence and duration of severe neutropenia, time to absolute neutrophil count (ANC) recovery, and depth of ANC nadir. Adverse events were generally similar between groups. Conclusions This analysis suggests that in patients with a higher FN risk, such as the elderly patients of this study, lipegfilgrastim reduces not only the duration of severe neutropenia but also the incidence of FN

A Phase 2, International, Multicenter, Open-label Clinical Trial of Subcutaneous Tbo-Filgrastim in Pediatric Patients With Solid Tumors Undergoing Myelosuppressive Chemotherapy

This phase 2, multicenter, open-label trial investigated the safety and tolerability of tbo- filgrastim in pediatric patients receiving myelosuppressive chemotherapy. In total, 50 patients 1 month to below 16 years of age with solid tumors without bone marrow involvement were stratified into 3 age groups (2 infants, 30 children, 18 adolescents) and prophylactically administered tbo-filgrastim 5 µg/kg body weight once daily subcutaneously. The administration started after the last chemotherapy treatment in week 1 of the first cycle and continued until the expected neutrophil nadir had passed, and the neutrophil count had recovered to 2.0×10/L. The primary endpoint was safety and tolerability of tbo-filgrastim ; secondary endpoints included efficacy. The mean (SD) number of doses administered was 9.2 (2.83) in children and 7.3 (1.88) in adolescents. Serious treatment-emergent adverse events were reported in 24% of patients ; the most common were febrile neutropenia (FN) (12%), anemia (8%), and thrombocytopenia (8%). Nine patients (18%) experienced mild treatment- related treatment-emergent adverse events ; the most common were musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders (8%). No deaths or withdrawals occurred. The incidence of severe neutropenia (SN) was 52% and the mean (SD) duration of SN was 1.8 (2.21) days ; FN incidence was 26%. A daily dose of tbo-filgrastim 5 μg/kg body weight administered to pediatric patients demonstrated a safety profile consistent with the safety profile in adult patients. The incidence of FN was on the lower end of the range reported in the literature and the SN results provide supportive data on the efficacy of tbo-filgrastim in pediatric patients