INDICATION AND USAGE
Cidofovir injection is indicated for the treatment of CMV retinitis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). THE SAFETY AND EFFICACY OF CIDOFOVIR INJECTION HAVE NOT BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR TREATMENT OF OTHER CMV INFECTIONS (SUCH AS PNEUMONITIS OR GASTROENTERITIS), CONGENITAL OR NEONATAL CMV DISEASE, OR CMV DISEASE IN NON-HIV-INFECTED INDIVIDUALS.
DESCRIPTION OF CLINICAL TRIALS
Three phase II/III controlled trials of cidofovir injection have been conducted in HIV-infected patients with CMV retinitis.
Delayed Versus Immediate Therapy (Study 105)
In stage 1 of this open-label trial, conducted by the Studies of the Ocular Complications of AIDS (SOCA) Clinical Research Group, 29 previously untreated patients with peripheral CMV retinitis were randomized to either immediate treatment with cidofovir injection (5 mg/kg once a week for 2 weeks, then 3 mg/kg every other week) or to have cidofovir injection delayed until progression of CMV retinitis13. In stage 2 of this trial, an additional 35 previously untreated patients with peripheral CMV retinitis were randomized to either immediate treatment with cidofovir injection (5 mg/kg once a week for 2 weeks, then 5 mg/kg every other week), immediate treatment with cidofovir injection (5 mg/kg once a week for 2 weeks, then 3 mg/kg every other week), or to have cidofovir injection delayed until progression of CMV retinitis. Of the 64 patients in this study, 12 were randomized to 5 mg/kg maintenance therapy, 26 to 3 mg/kg maintenance therapy, and 26 to delayed therapy. Of the 12 patients enrolled in the 5 mg/kg maintenance group, 5 patients progressed, 5 patients discontinued therapy and 2 patients had no progression at study completion. Based on masked readings of retinal photographs, the median [95% confidence interval (CI)] time to retinitis progression was not reached (25, not reached) for the 5 mg/kg maintenance group. Median (95% CI) time to the alternative endpoint of retinitis progression or study drug discontinuation was 44 days (24, 207) for the 5 mg/kg maintenance group. Patients receiving 5 mg/kg maintenance had delayed time to retinitis progression compared to patients receiving 3 mg/kg maintenance or deferred therapy.
Delayed Versus Immediate Therapy (Study 106)
In an open-label trial, 48 previously untreated patients with peripheral CMV retinitis were randomized to either immediate treatment with cidofovir injection (5 mg/kg once a week for 2 weeks, then 5 mg/kg every other week), or to have cidofovir injection delayed until progression of CMV retinitis14. Patient baseline characteristics and disposition are shown in Table 3. Of 25 and 23 patients in the immediate and delayed groups respectively, 23 and 21 were evaluable for retinitis progression as determined by retinal photography. Based on masked readings of retinal photographs, the median [95% confidence interval (CI)] times to retinitis progression were 120 days (40, 134) and 22 days (10, 27) for the immediate and delayed therapy groups, respectively. This difference was statistically significant. However, because of the limited number of patients remaining on treatment over time (3 of 25 patients received cidofovir injection for 120 days or longer), the median time to progression for the immediate therapy group was difficult to precisely estimate. Median (95% CI) times to the alternative endpoint of retinitis progression or study drug discontinuation (including adverse events, withdrawn consent, and systemic CMV disease) were 52 days (37, 85) and 22 days (13, 27) for the immediate and delayed therapy groups, respectively.
This difference was statistically significant. Time to progression estimates from this study may not be directly comparable to estimates reported for other therapies.
Table 3. Patient Characteristics and Disposition (Study 106)
* One patient died 2 weeks after withdrawing consent.
Two patients on immediate therapy were diagnosed with CMV disease and discontinued from study. One patient on delayed therapy was diagnosed with CMV gastrointestinal disease.
CMV retinitis progression not confirmed by retinal photography.
Immediate
Therapy
(n = 25)
Delayed
Therapy
(n = 23)
Baseline Characteristics
Age (years)
38
38
Sex (M/F)
24/1
22/1
Median CD4 Cell Count
6
9
Endpoints
CMV Retinitis Progression
10
18
Discontinued Due to Adverse Event
6
0
Withdrew Consent
3*
1
Discontinued Due to Intercurrent Illness
2
1
Discontinued Based on Ophthalmological Examination
1
1
No Progression at Study Completion
1
0
Not Evaluable at Baseline
2
2
Dose-response study of cidofovir injection (Study 107)
In an open-label trial, 100 patients with relapsing CMV retinitis were randomized to receive 5 mg/kg once a week for 2 weeks and then either 5 mg/kg (n = 49) or 3 mg/kg (n = 51) every other week. Enrolled patients had been diagnosed with CMV retinitis an average of 390 days prior to randomization and had received a median of 3.8 prior courses of systemic CMV therapy. Eighty four of the 100 patients were considered evaluable for progression by serial retinal photographs (43 randomized to 5 mg/kg and 41 randomized to 3 mg/kg). Twenty-six and 21 patients discontinued therapy due to either an adverse event, intercurrent illness, excluded medication, or withdrawn consent in the 5 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg groups, respectively. Thirty-eight of the 100 randomized patients had progressed according to masked assessment of serial retinal photographs (13 randomized to 5 mg/kg and 25 randomized to 3 mg/kg). Using retinal photographs, the median (95% CI) times to retinitis progression for the 5 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg groups were 115 days (70, not reached) and 49 days (35, 52), respectively. This difference was statistically significant. Similar to Study 106, the median time to retinitis progression for the 5 mg/kg group was difficult to precisely estimate due to the limited number of patients remaining on treatment over time (4 of the 49 patients in the 5 mg/kg group were treated for 115 days or longer). Median (95% CI) times to the alternative endpoint of retinitis progression or study drug discontinuation were 49 days (38, 63) and 35 days (27, 39) for the 5 mg/kg and 3 mg/kg groups, respectively. This difference was statistically significant.