Please select the eligibility criteria that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: Phase IV Study of the Use of Sequential DFP-DFO Versus DFP in Thalassemia Major Patients
Brief Summary: Changes in chelation treatment and transfusion practices, during the past two decades, have dramatically improved the prognosis of thalassemia major patients.Deferiprone (DFP) has been compared with deferoxamine (DFO), using different schedules of treatment, in the majority of the 13 clinical trials published between 1990 and 2008.No statistically significant difference was shown between these two interventions during, at most, 18 months of treatment.Three randomised trials that compared sequential DFP-DFO treatment versus DFO alone reported controversial results but this could be due to small sample sizes and short treatment duration. In fact, no trial with treatment duration longer than 18 months15, which reported on mortality, adverse events, serum ferritin concentrations, as well as costs has so far been published.

This long-term sequential DFP-DFO treatment versus DFP alone treatment trial was conducted to assess the impacts of these chelation treatments on serum ferritin concentrations, mortality, adverse events, and costs in thalassemia major patients.


Options:
A: Inclusion Criteria:

* Beta-thalassemia patients already treated with or suitable for treatment with deferoxamine 20 to 40 mg/kg/day
* Liver iron content greater than 2 mg iron/g dw as measured by liver biopsy
* Need for regular transfusions 8 or more times per year

Exclusion Criteria:

* Non-transfusional iron overload or transfusion-dependent anemias other than beta-thalassemia.
* Documented toxicity to deferoxamine
* Elevated liver enzymes in the year preceeding enrollment
* Active hepatitis B or hepatitis C
* HIV seropositivity
* Elevated serum creatinine or significant proteinuria
* History of nephrotic syndrome
* Uncontrolled systemic hypertension
* Fever and other signs/symptoms of infection within 10 days prior to start of the study
* Presence of clinically relevant cataract or previous history of clinically relevant ocular toxicity related to iron chelation
* Second or third degree AV block, clinically relevant Q-T interval prolongation, or patients requiring digoxin or other drugs that prolong the Q-T interval
* Diseases (cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, etc.)that would prevent the patient from undergoing any of the treatment options
* Psychiatric or additive disorders that would prevent the patient from giving informed consent
* History of drug or alcohol abuse within the 12 months prior to the study
* Pregnant or breast feeding patients
* Patients treated with systemic investigational drugs within 4 weeks or topical investigational drugs within 7 days before the start of the study
* Any surgical or medical condition that might significantly alter the absorption, distribution, metabolism or excretion of any drug, such as gastrointestinal disease or major surgery, renal disease, difficulty voiding or urinary obstruction, or impaired pancreatic function.
* Non-compliant or unreliable patients.
* Patients unable to undergo any study procedures such as the hearing or eye tests, or the liver echocardiography.
* Inability to undergo a liver biopsy.
* Patients that would need a dose of ICL670 less than 125 mg per day.
B: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients of both genders aged from 1 month up to less than 18 years at the time of enrolment
* Patients affected by any hereditary haemoglobinopathy requiring chronic transfusion therapy and chelation, including but not limited to thalassemia syndromes and sickle cell disease
* Patients on current treatment with deferoxamine (DFO) or DFX or DFP in a chronic transfusion program receiving at least 150 mL/kg/year of packed red blood cells (corresponding approximately to 12 transfusions);
* For patients naïve to chelation treatment: patients that have received at least 150 mL/kg of packed red blood cells (corresponding to approximately 12 transfusions) in a chronic transfusion program and with serum ferritin levels ≥ 800 ng/mL;
* Until availability of results from the PK Study (Study DEEP-1, EudraCT n. 2012-000658-67) for patients aged from 1 month to less than 6 years: known intolerance or contraindication to DFO;
* Written informed consent and patient's informed assent, relating to his/her comprehension abilities and level of maturity

Exclusion Criteria:

* Patients with intolerance or known contraindication to either DFP or DFX
* Patients receiving DFX at a dose \> 40 mg/kg/day or DFP at a dose \> 100 mg/kg/day at screening
* Platelet count \<100.000/mm3 during the run-in phase
* Absolute neutrophils count \<1.500/mm3 during the run-in phase
* Hb levels lower than 8g/dL during the run-in phase
* Evidence of abnormal liver function
* Iron overload from causes other than transfusional haemosiderosis
* Severe heart dysfunction secondary to iron overload
* Serum creatinine level \> ULN (Upper Limit of Normal) for age during the run-in phase
* History of significant medical or psychiatric disorder
* The patient has received another investigational drug within 30 days prior to this clinical trial
* Fever and other signs/symptoms of infection in the 10 days before baseline assessment
* Concomitant use of trivalent cation-dependent medicinal products such as aluminium-based antacids
* Positive test for β-HCG (Human chorionic gonadotropin) and lactating female patients
C: Inclusion Criteria:

* Thalassemia major patients with serum ferritin concentration between 800 to 3,000 ng/ml and were over 13 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

* Known intolerance to one of the trial treatments
* Platelet count \< 100,000/mm3 or or leukocyte count \< 3,000/mm3
* Severe liver damage indicated by ascites
* Heart failure
D: Inclusion Criteria:

* Patients presenting with transfusion-dependent anemias (independent of underlying condition) with transfusional iron overload as shown by a serum ferritin level of ≥ 1000 ng/ml
* Patients of either gender and aged ≥ 2 years
* Female patients who have reached menarche and who are sexually active must use an effective method of contraception, or must have undergone clinically documented total hysterectomy and/or ovariectomy, or tubal ligation.

Additional Inclusion Criteria for Adult Patients:

* Written informed consent by the patient

Additional Inclusion Criteria for Pediatric Patients:

* The definition of the term "pediatric" will be in accordance with local legislation. Parents or legal guardians will be fully informed by the investigator as to the requirements of the study. The pediatric patients themselves will be informed according to their capabilities in a language and terms that they are able to understand. Written informed consent will be obtained from their parents or legal guardians on the patient's behalf in accordance with the national legislation. If capable, all patients should also personally sign their written informed assent.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Non-transfusional hemosiderosis
* Patients with clinical evidence supporting the need for intensive chelation, based on the investigator's judgment
* Patients with mean levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) \> 300 U/l
* Patients with uncontrolled systemic hypertension
* Patients with serum creatinine above the upper limit of normal (ULN)
* Significant proteinuria as indicated by a urinary protein/creatinine ratio \> 0.5 (mg/mg) in second-voiding urine samples taken at both visits 1 and 2. A third sample is to be taken from patients in whom one ratio is \> 0.5 (mg/mg) and one is ≤ 0.5 (mg/mg) and patients in whom the urinary protein/creatinine ratio is \> 0.5 (mg/mg) in two of the three determinations are also to be excluded.
* History of nephrotic syndrome
* Patients with 3rd atrioventricular (A-V) block, clinically relevant Q-T interval prolongation as well as patients requiring treatment with digoxin and similar compounds or drugs which may induce prolongation of the Q-T interval
* Patients with a previous history of clinically relevant ocular toxicity related to iron chelation
* Systemic diseases (cardiovascular, renal, hepatic, etc.) which would prevent the patient from undergoing study treatment
* Patients with psychiatric or addictive disorders which prevent them from giving their informed consent or undergoing study treatment
* Pregnant or breast feeding patients
* Patients treated with systemic investigational drugs within the past 4 weeks or topical investigational drugs within the past 7 days
* Any other surgical or medical condition which might significantly alter the absorption, distribution, metabolism or excretion of any drug. The investigator should be guided by evidence of any of the following:

  * history of inflammatory bowel syndrome, gastritis, ulcers, gastrointestinal or rectal bleeding;
  * history of major gastrointestinal tract surgery such as gastrectomy, gastroenterostomy, or bowel resection;
  * history of pancreatic injury or pancreatitis; indications of impaired pancreatic function/injury as indicated by abnormal lipase or amylase;
  * history or presence of impaired renal function as indicated by creatinine or blood urea nitrogen (BUN) values equal or above ULN;
  * history of urinary obstruction or difficulty in voiding.
* History of non-compliance to medical regimens and patients who are considered potentially unreliable and/or not cooperative
* History of drug or alcohol abuse within the 12 months prior to dosing or evidence of such abuse as indicated by the laboratory assays conducted during the run-in period
* Patients with positive test to HIV
* Life expectancy of \< 1 year

Exclusion Criteria for Pediatric Patients:

* Patient body weight which prevents the use of the smallest tablet strength (i.e. 125 mg) for proper dosing

Other protocol-defined inclusion/exclusion criteria may apply.

Answer: C