Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: A Pilot Study of a Thrombopoietin-Receptor Agonist (TPO-R Agonist), Eltrombopag, in Aplastic Anemia Patients With Immunosuppressive-Therapy Refractory Thrombocytopenia
Brief Summary: Severe aplastic anemia (SAA) is a life-threatening blood disease which can be effectively treated with immunosuppressive drug regimens or allogeneic stem cell transplantation. However, 20-40% of patients without transplant options do not respond to immunosuppressive therapies, and have persistent severe cytopenias, requiring regular platelet transfusions, which are expensive and inconvenient, and are a risk for further serious bleeding complications.

Thrombopoietin (TPO) is the principal endogenous regulator of platelet production and also stimulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. A small molecule oral TPO-agonist, eltrombopag has been shown to increase platelets in healthy subjects and in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), and received FDA approval in 2008 for the treatment of thrombocytopenia in ITP. This Phase 2, non-randomized pilot study of eltrombopag in aplastic anemia patients with immunosuppressive therapy refractory thrombocytopenia will test the safety and potential efficacy of eltrombopag treatment patients with refractory thrombocytopenia following immunosuppression for aplastic anemia.

Subjects will initiate study medication at an oral dose of 50 mg/day, which will be increased up to 150 mg/day as clinically indicated to the lowest dose that maintains a stable platelet count 20,000/(micro)L above baseline while maximizing tolerability. Response will be assessed at 3-4 months. Platelet response is defined as platelet count increases to 20,000/L above baseline at three months. or stable platelet counts with transfusion independence for a minimum of 8 weeks. Erythroid response for subjects with a pretreatment hemoglobin of less than 9 g/dL will be defined as an increase in hemoglobin by greater than or equal to 1.5g/dL without packed red blood cell (PRBC) transfusion support, or a reduction in the units of transfusions by an absolute number of at least 4 PRBC transfusions for eight consecutive weeks compared with the pretreatment transfusion number in the previous 8 weeks. Neutrophil response will be defined in those with a pretreatment absolute neutrophil count (ANC) of less than 0.5 times 10(9)/L as at least a 100 percent increase or an absolute increase greater than 0.5 times 10(9)/L. Subjects with response at 3-4 months may continue study medication (extended access) until they meet an off study criteria. The primary objective is to assess the safety and efficacy of the oral thrombopoietin receptor agonist (TPO-R agonist) eltrombopag in aplastic anemia patients with immunosuppressive-therapy refractory thrombocytopenia. Secondary objectives include the analysis of the incidence and severity of bleeding episodes, and the impact on quality of life.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

1. Adult subjects (18 years of age or older) with advanced MDS or sAML/MDS requiring treatment with Azacitidine as approved by EMEA:

   * MDS classified as Intermediate 2-risk or high risk according to the international prognostic scoring system (IPSS) or
   * Chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia (CMML) with 10-29% bone marrow blasts without myeloproliferative disease or
   * Acute myeloblastic leukaemia (AML) with 20-30% bone marrow blasts with multilineage dysplasia according to the WHO classification.
2. Platelet counts \< 75 x 109 /L at start of Azacitidine treatment.
3. Subjects must have platelet count and platelet transfusion data available over a period of 4 weeks prior to inclusion.
4. During the 8 weeks prior to inclusion in study, subjects must have a baseline bone marrow examination including all of the following:

   * cytomorphology to confirm bone marrow blasts
   * cytogenetics
5. ECOG Status 0-2.
6. Subject is able to understand and comply with protocol requirements and instructions.
7. Subject has signed and dated informed consent.
8. Adequate baseline organ function defined by the criteria below:

   * total bilirubin (except for Gilbert's Syndrome) \</= 1.5xULN
   * ALT and AST \</= 3xULN
   * creatinine \</= 2.5 xULN
9. Subject is practicing an acceptable method of contraception (documented in CRF).Female subjects (or female partners of male subjects) must either be of non childbearing potential (hysterectomy, bilateral oophorectomy, bilateral tubal ligation or post-menopausal \> 1 year), or of childbearing potential and use 1 of the following highly effective methods of contraception (i.e., Pearl Index \< 1.0%) from 2 weeks prior to administration of study medication, throughout the study, and 28 days after completion or premature discontinuation from the study:

   * Complete abstinence from intercourse;
   * Intrauterine device (IUD);
   * Two forms of barrier contraception (diaphragm plus spermicide, and for males condom plus spermicide);
   * Male partner is sterile prior to entry into the study and is the only partner of the female;
   * Systemic contraceptives (combined or progesterone only).

Exclusion criteria:

1. Subjects with a diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia.
2. Patients with short life expectancy (less than 3 months)
3. Patients with bone marrow fibrosis that does not allow bone marrow aspiration (so-called "dry tap") or fibrosis grade II or III (grading according to European consensus on grading bone marrow fibrosis.
4. History of treatment for cancer other than MDS or sAML/MDS with systemic chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy within the last 2 years.
5. Patients with clinically significant splenomegaly, or \> 16 cm spleen in length measured by ultrasound
6. Patients with known liver cirrhosis
7. Patients with East Asian ancestry such as Chinese, Japanese, Taiwanese or Korean.
8. History of treatment with romiplostim or other TPO-R agonists.
9. subjects with a QTc \> 450 msec (QTc \> 480 msec for subjects with Bundle Branch Block).
10. Subjects with known thrombophilic risk factors. Exception: Subjects for whom the potential benefits of participating in the study outweigh the potential risks of thromboembolic events, as determined by the investigator.
11. Female subjects who are nursing or pregnant (positive serum or urine Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin \[B-hCG\] pregnancy test) at screening or pre-dose on Day 1.
12. Current alcohol or drug abuse.
13. Treatment with an investigational drug within 30 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer) preceding the first dose of study medication.
14. Active and uncontrolled infections.
15. Subjects infected with Hepatitis B, C or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Adult subjects (18 years of age or older) with advanced MDS, sAML/MDS, or de novo AML with \>=10% and \<=50% blasts in bone marrow. Peripheral blood blast change over time should not be suggestive of highly proliferative disease (as judged by the investigator).
* Subjects must be dependent on regular platelet transfusions or have a platelet count taken within the 4 weeks prior to randomization that is \<30 Gi/L.
* Subjects must be relapsed, refractory or ineligible to receive standard treatment options of azacitidine and decitabine and must be relapsed, refractory or ineligible to receive intensive chemotherapy or autologous/allogeneic stem cell transplantation. A subject may be considered relapsed/refractory to a standard treatment if it is discontinued due to lack of efficacy. For subjects ineligible for standard treatments, it is permissible to start one of these standard treatments while on study medication if the Investigator considers that the subject becomes eligible during the course of the study.
* Prior therapy with demethylating agents (azacitidine or decitabine), lenalidomide or IL-11(oprelvekin) must have been completed at least 4 weeks before Day 1; antithymocyte/antilymphocyte globulin, intensive chemotherapy, or autologous/allogeneic stem cell transplantation must have been completed at least 2 months before Day 1. If a subject must discontinue a course of therapy due to lack of efficacy, the washout periods listed above do not apply (and the patient may be screened and randomized immediately if other eligibility criteria are met).
* Subjects must have platelet count and platelet transfusion data available over a period of 4 weeks prior to randomization.
* Subjects with advanced MDS, sAML/MDS, or de novo AML must have stable disease indicated by a doubling time of peripheral blast counts \>7 days during screening.
* During the 4 weeks prior to randomization, subjects must have a baseline bone marrow examination including the following:
* cytomorphology to confirm bone marrow blasts between 10-50%,
* cytogenetics (provide only most prevalent abnormal clone),

The results of the above tests are required prior to subject randomization.

* Supportive/palliative therapies such as cytokines (except for IL-11; oprelvekin), valproic acid, all-trans retinoic acid or mild chemotherapy are allowed if part of the local SOC, provided those therapies have been at a stable dose for 4 weeks. If the subject chooses to discontinue these therapies prior to study entry, they must be completed 4 weeks prior to enrollment into this study, unless the therapy is discontinued due to lack of efficacy. Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs) in anemic subjects or granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in subjects with severe neutropenia and recurrent infections are allowed during the study as per accepted standards. Subjects who enter the study on ESAs or G-CSF should continue at the same dose schedule until the optimal dose of study medication has been established.
* ECOG Status 0-3.
* Subject is able to understand and comply with protocol requirements and instructions.
* Subject has signed and dated informed consent.
* Prothrombin time (PT/INR) and activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) must be within 80 to 120% of the normal range at baseline.
* Adequate baseline organ function defined by the criteria below:
* total bilirubin (except for Gilbert's Syndrome) \<= 1.5xULN
* ALT and AST \<= 3xULN
* creatinine \<= 2xULN
* albumin must not be below the lower limit of normal (LLN) by more than 20%.
* Subject is practicing an acceptable method of contraception (documented in chart). Female subjects (or female partners of male subjects) must either be of non-childbearing potential (hysterectomy, bilateral oophorectomy, bilateral tubal ligation or post-menopausal \>1 year), or of childbearing potential and use 1 of the following highly effective methods of contraception (i.e., Pearl Index \<1.0%) from 2 weeks prior to administration of study medication, throughout the study, and 28 days after completion or premature discontinuation from the study:
* Complete abstinence from intercourse;
* Intrauterine device (IUD);
* Two forms of barrier contraception (diaphragm plus spermicide, and for males condom plus spermicide);
* Male partner is sterile prior to entry into the study and is the only partner of the female;
* Systemic contraceptives (combined or progesterone only).

Exclusion Criteria:

* Subjects with a diagnosis of acute promyelocytic leukemia.
* History of treatment for cancer (other than MDS, sAML/MDS, or de novo AML) with systemic chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy within the last 2 years.
* History of treatment with romiplostim or other TPO-R agonists.
* Pre-existing cardiovascular disease (including congestive heart failure, New York Heart Association \[NYHA\] Grade III/IV), or arrhythmia known to increase the risk of thromboembolic events (e.g. atrial fibrillation), or subjects with a QTc \>450 msec (QTc \>480 msec for subjects with Bundle Branch Block).
* Bone marrow fibrosis that leads to an inability to aspirate marrow for assessment.
* Spleen size \>14 cm (length as per ultrasound examination).
* Leukocytosis \>=25,000/uL prior to Day 1 of study medication.
* Female subjects who are nursing or pregnant (positive serum or urine Beta-human chorionic gonadotropin \[B-hCG\] pregnancy test) at screening or pre-dose on Day 1.
* Current alcohol or drug abuse.
* Treatment with an investigational drug within 30 days or 5 half-lives (whichever is longer) preceding the first dose of study medication.
* Active and uncontrolled infections.
* Subjects infected with Hepatitis B, C or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
* Subjects with liver cirrhosis.
C: * INCLUSION CRITERIA:

  1. Diagnosis of aplastic anemia, with refractory thrombocytopenia following at least one treatment course of horse or rabbit ATG/cyclosporine.
  2. Platelet count less than or equal to 30,000/microL
  3. Age greater than or equal to 12 years old

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

1. Diagnosis of Fanconi anemia
2. Infection not adequately responding to appropriate therapy
3. Patients with a PNH clone size in neutrophils of greater than or equal to 50%
4. HIV positivity
5. Creatinine \> 2.5
6. Bilirubin \> 2.0
7. SGOT or SGPT \> 5 times the upper limit of normal
8. Hypersensitivity to eltrombopag or its components
9. Female subjects who are nursing or pregnant or are unwilling to take oral contraceptives or refrain from pregnancy if of childbearing potential
10. History of malignancy other than localized tumors diagnosed more than one year previously and treated surgically with curative intent (for instance squamous cell or other skin cancers, stage 1 breast cancer, cervical carcinoma in situ, etc)
11. Unable to understand the investigational nature of the study or give informed consent
12. History of congestive heart failure arrhythmia requiring chronic treatment, arterial or venous thrombosis (not excluding line thrombosis) within the last 1 year, or myocardial infarction within 3 months before enrollment
13. ECOG Performance Status of 3 or greater
14. Treatment with horse or rabbit ATG or Campath within 6 months of study entry. Concurrent stable treatment with cyclosporine or G-CSF is permitted.
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Age 16 years or more
* Confirmed diagnosis of MYH9-related disease
* Average platelet count for the previous year less than 50x10e9/L
* Written informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

* Diseases known to involve the risk of thromboembolic events (e.g. atrial fibrillation)
* History of thrombosis within 1 year
* Use of drugs that affect platelet function (including but not limited to, aspirin, clopidogrel or NSAIDS) or anti-coagulants
* Females who are pregnant or nursing (a negative pregnancy test in required before enrollment of fertile women)
* Formal refusal of any recommendation of a safe contraception
* Alcohol or drug addiction
* Altered renal function as defined by creatinine of 20 mg/L or more
* Any other disease or condition that by the advise of the responsible physician would make the treatment dangerous for the patient or would make the patient ineligible for the study, including physical, psychiatric, social and behavioral problems. HCV positivity and liver diseases will not be considered an exclusion criterion since a phase II study showed that eltrombopag was effective and safe in this patient population.

Answer: C