Hepatology

Cancer patients treated with the oral anticoagulant apixaban (Eliquis) had a lower rate of venous thromboembolism but a higher rate of major bleeding, according to data from the AVERT study.

In the placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, 574 ambulatory cancer patients who were at moderate to high risk of thromboembolism (Khorana risk score of 2 or more) and were starting chemotherapy were randomized to either apixaban 2.5 mg twice daily or to placebo for 180 days. Over the 210-day study period, 12 patients (4.2%) in the apixaban group experienced a venous thromboembolism as did 28 patients (10.2%) in the placebo group, an adjusted 61% reduction in risk associated with anticoagulant therapy. The number needed to treat to prevent one venous thromboembolism was 17, Marc Carrier, MD, of the University of Ottawa, and his coauthors reported in the Dec. 4 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The treatment of venous thromboembolism with therapeutic anticoagulation is challenging in patients with cancer, because it often involves daily injections of low-molecular-weight heparin and is associated with a high risk of thromboembolism recurrence and serious bleeding complications,” they wrote. As an oral agent, apixaban offers a more convenient alternative.

The authors added that their study found more favorable benefits from anticoagulant therapy than had been seen in previous studies and suggested that this may be the result of using a different agent and a twice-daily dosing regimen.

In the AVERT study, the lower incidence of thromboembolism in the treatment arm was largely because of a reduction in pulmonary embolisms; there were 5 cases in the apixaban group, compared with 16 in the placebo group. The apixaban group experienced 7 cases of deep-vein thrombosis, and the placebo group experienced 12 cases.

During the treatment period, the placebo group had 20 venous thrombembolisms and the apixaban group had 3.

However the incidence of major bleeding was twice as high in the apixaban group: 10 patients (3.5%), compared with 5 (1.8%) in the placebo group (P = .046). The difference between the two groups was mostly based on an increased incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding, hematuria, and gynecologic bleeding among patients treated with apixaban.

None of the major bleeds affected critical organs in any patients. Most were category 2 bleeds, and three cases were judged to be clinical emergencies.

There were 62 deaths overall in the study – 35 in the apixaban group and 27 in the placebo group – and 87% of these deaths were related to the cancer.

Many patients in the study had advanced cancer, which was also the most common cause of death, the authors said. However, there was one death from pulmonary embolism in the placebo group. The dominant cancer types in the study participants were lymphoma, gynecologic, pancreatic, and lung cancers. Two-thirds of the patients in each group had a Khorana risk score of 2, and one patient in each group had a score of 5.

A different trial design and larger study would be needed to examine the impact of treatment on mortality and outcomes related to specific tumor types and chemotherapy regimens, the authors said.

They stressed that only 5.9% of patients in the study had renal dysfunction, so the study results cannot necessarily be applied to these patients more generally, especially as they are known to be at higher risk of bleeding.

The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Bristol-Myers Squibb–Pfizer Alliance. Thirteen authors declared honoraria, grants or personal fees from the pharmaceutical industry unrelated to the study. Two declared grants from the study funders for the study; ten authors had no conflicts of interest to declare.
 

SOURCE: Carrier M et al. N Engl J Med. 2018 Dec 4. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1814468
 

Cancer patients treated with the oral anticoagulant apixaban (Eliquis) had a lower rate of venous thromboembolism but a higher rate of major bleeding, according to data from the AVERT study.

In the placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, 574 ambulatory cancer patients who were at moderate to high risk of thromboembolism (Khorana risk score of 2 or more) and were starting chemotherapy were randomized to either apixaban 2.5 mg twice daily or to placebo for 180 days. Over the 210-day study period, 12 patients (4.2%) in the apixaban group experienced a venous thromboembolism as did 28 patients (10.2%) in the placebo group, an adjusted 61% reduction in risk associated with anticoagulant therapy. The number needed to treat to prevent one venous thromboembolism was 17, Marc Carrier, MD, of the University of Ottawa, and his coauthors reported in the Dec. 4 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The treatment of venous thromboembolism with therapeutic anticoagulation is challenging in patients with cancer, because it often involves daily injections of low-molecular-weight heparin and is associated with a high risk of thromboembolism recurrence and serious bleeding complications,” they wrote. As an oral agent, apixaban offers a more convenient alternative.

The authors added that their study found more favorable benefits from anticoagulant therapy than had been seen in previous studies and suggested that this may be the result of using a different agent and a twice-daily dosing regimen.

In the AVERT study, the lower incidence of thromboembolism in the treatment arm was largely because of a reduction in pulmonary embolisms; there were 5 cases in the apixaban group, compared with 16 in the placebo group. The apixaban group experienced 7 cases of deep-vein thrombosis, and the placebo group experienced 12 cases.

During the treatment period, the placebo group had 20 venous thrombembolisms and the apixaban group had 3.

However the incidence of major bleeding was twice as high in the apixaban group: 10 patients (3.5%), compared with 5 (1.8%) in the placebo group (P = .046). The difference between the two groups was mostly based on an increased incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding, hematuria, and gynecologic bleeding among patients treated with apixaban.

None of the major bleeds affected critical organs in any patients. Most were category 2 bleeds, and three cases were judged to be clinical emergencies.

There were 62 deaths overall in the study – 35 in the apixaban group and 27 in the placebo group – and 87% of these deaths were related to the cancer.

Many patients in the study had advanced cancer, which was also the most common cause of death, the authors said. However, there was one death from pulmonary embolism in the placebo group. The dominant cancer types in the study participants were lymphoma, gynecologic, pancreatic, and lung cancers. Two-thirds of the patients in each group had a Khorana risk score of 2, and one patient in each group had a score of 5.

A different trial design and larger study would be needed to examine the impact of treatment on mortality and outcomes related to specific tumor types and chemotherapy regimens, the authors said.

They stressed that only 5.9% of patients in the study had renal dysfunction, so the study results cannot necessarily be applied to these patients more generally, especially as they are known to be at higher risk of bleeding.

The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Bristol-Myers Squibb–Pfizer Alliance. Thirteen authors declared honoraria, grants or personal fees from the pharmaceutical industry unrelated to the study. Two declared grants from the study funders for the study; ten authors had no conflicts of interest to declare.
 

SOURCE: Carrier M et al. N Engl J Med. 2018 Dec 4. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1814468
 

Cancer patients treated with the oral anticoagulant apixaban (Eliquis) had a lower rate of venous thromboembolism but a higher rate of major bleeding, according to data from the AVERT study.

In the placebo-controlled, double-blind trial, 574 ambulatory cancer patients who were at moderate to high risk of thromboembolism (Khorana risk score of 2 or more) and were starting chemotherapy were randomized to either apixaban 2.5 mg twice daily or to placebo for 180 days. Over the 210-day study period, 12 patients (4.2%) in the apixaban group experienced a venous thromboembolism as did 28 patients (10.2%) in the placebo group, an adjusted 61% reduction in risk associated with anticoagulant therapy. The number needed to treat to prevent one venous thromboembolism was 17, Marc Carrier, MD, of the University of Ottawa, and his coauthors reported in the Dec. 4 edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The treatment of venous thromboembolism with therapeutic anticoagulation is challenging in patients with cancer, because it often involves daily injections of low-molecular-weight heparin and is associated with a high risk of thromboembolism recurrence and serious bleeding complications,” they wrote. As an oral agent, apixaban offers a more convenient alternative.

The authors added that their study found more favorable benefits from anticoagulant therapy than had been seen in previous studies and suggested that this may be the result of using a different agent and a twice-daily dosing regimen.

In the AVERT study, the lower incidence of thromboembolism in the treatment arm was largely because of a reduction in pulmonary embolisms; there were 5 cases in the apixaban group, compared with 16 in the placebo group. The apixaban group experienced 7 cases of deep-vein thrombosis, and the placebo group experienced 12 cases.

During the treatment period, the placebo group had 20 venous thrombembolisms and the apixaban group had 3.

However the incidence of major bleeding was twice as high in the apixaban group: 10 patients (3.5%), compared with 5 (1.8%) in the placebo group (P = .046). The difference between the two groups was mostly based on an increased incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding, hematuria, and gynecologic bleeding among patients treated with apixaban.

None of the major bleeds affected critical organs in any patients. Most were category 2 bleeds, and three cases were judged to be clinical emergencies.

There were 62 deaths overall in the study – 35 in the apixaban group and 27 in the placebo group – and 87% of these deaths were related to the cancer.

Many patients in the study had advanced cancer, which was also the most common cause of death, the authors said. However, there was one death from pulmonary embolism in the placebo group. The dominant cancer types in the study participants were lymphoma, gynecologic, pancreatic, and lung cancers. Two-thirds of the patients in each group had a Khorana risk score of 2, and one patient in each group had a score of 5.

A different trial design and larger study would be needed to examine the impact of treatment on mortality and outcomes related to specific tumor types and chemotherapy regimens, the authors said.

They stressed that only 5.9% of patients in the study had renal dysfunction, so the study results cannot necessarily be applied to these patients more generally, especially as they are known to be at higher risk of bleeding.

The study was supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Bristol-Myers Squibb–Pfizer Alliance. Thirteen authors declared honoraria, grants or personal fees from the pharmaceutical industry unrelated to the study. Two declared grants from the study funders for the study; ten authors had no conflicts of interest to declare.
 

SOURCE: Carrier M et al. N Engl J Med. 2018 Dec 4. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1814468
 

SAN FRANCISCO – Hepatitis C therapy has matured and now offers excellent sustained viral response (SVR) in the vast majority of cases, but key challenges remain in getting the therapy to those who need it.

“Unfortunately, we’re not making some of the progress we might have hoped to see, particularly in North America,” said Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, who gave a debrief of hepatitis C abstracts during a wrap-up session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

The problem is particularly acute in young adults aged 18-39 years – only about 9% of those who tested positive for HCV RNA saw a specialist, and about 23% of those who saw a specialist went on to receive treatment, according to an analysis of over 17 million patients in the United States (abstract 1567). The numbers were better for older adults but still far from optimal, with 23% who tested positive seeing a specialist, and just 32% of those patients getting treatment.

Another study (abstract 0147) looked state by state at the percentage of Medicaid patients who received a prescription for direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medication and then went on to fill the prescription. The rates ranged from 0% in Alaska to 96% in Connecticut. Eight states were higher than 70%, six were between 50% and 70%, and 15 states were below 50%.

“Despite our efforts, there continue to be major access barriers across the U.S., particularly for Medicaid individuals,” said Dr. Feld, who is a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Liver Clinic and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

A study examining the Chronic Hepatitis (CHeCS) cohort (abstract 0585) described a big spike in treatment uptake shortly after approvals of the new HCV regimens, but by 2016, only about one-third of individuals who required treatment actually began treatment. Factors associated with nontreatment largely reflected marginalization, including low income, being on Medicaid, and lack of long-term follow-up.

Even as health systems struggle to get treatment to those who need it, new studies are showing how to expand existing treatments into new populations.

Results from the EXPEDITION 8 study (abstract LB-7) showed efficacy of an 8-week regimen of the glecaprevir/pibrentasvir combination in patients with compensated cirrhosis. It looked at genotypes 1, 2, and 4-6. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 98% attained SVR and there were no viral failures or safety concerns. A follow-up trial is ongoing that includes patients with genotype 3. “This is exciting to be able to shorten therapy in patients with cirrhosis,” said Dr. Feld.

Although first-line DAAs are extremely effective, there are a few patients who do not achieve a cure. One study (abstract 0227) examined the combination of sofosbuvir, velpatasvir, and voxilaprevir in retreatment of these patients. The drugs resulted in SVR rates similar to those in registration trials, but the regimen was somewhat less effective in patients previously treated with sofosbuvir and velpatasvir. “I think we need to investigate that further,” said Dr. Feld.

The combination of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir also proved effective for retreatment in patients with genotype 1/1A who had failed treatment with an NS5A inhibitor plus sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin (abstract 226). SVR rates at 16 weeks were quite good, but lower in genotype 1a patients at 12 weeks (87% week 12 versus 94% week 16).”I think this is a really good regimen for genotype 1b. For 1a, serum definitely needs 16 weeks [to clear],” said Dr. Feld.

Other abstracts presented at the meeting detailed some of the benefits of SVR, not all of which are broadly appreciated. An analysis of the Hepatitis Testers Cohort in British Columbia (abstract 145), which includes over 7,000 patients who were followed for a median of 2 years (DAA) or 9.5 years (interferon-based), showed survival advantages to SVR in both cirrhotic (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.14) and noncirrhotic patients (aHR, 0.13). Other benefits include lower risk of diabetes (aHR, 0.53), chronic kidney disease/endstage renal disease (aHR, 0.48), stroke (aHR, 0.67), and mood and anxiety disorders (aHR, 0.53) (abstract 148).

As is generally accepted, SVR reduces the risk of hepatocellular cancer (HCC), according to analyses of VA and Gilead data (abstract 635), with a benefit in both cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients. The risk almost disappears in patients without cirrhosis (incidence rate 0.07 per 100 person-years and is curbed in cirrhotic patients (incidence rate 1.30 in compensated, 4.05 in decompensated cirrhosis).

“There is really very significantly high incidence in cancer in decompensated cirrhosis, which just highlights that these patients continue to need ongoing surveillance. Although there have been efforts at developing strategies to risk stratify patients with cirrhosis, at least for now we’re stuck with surveillance, but I think for patients without cirrhosis there are now enough data showing a low enough incidence of primary HCC that we can probably avoid surveillance in that group,” said Dr. Feld.

Injectable drug users represent a special challenge in hepatitis C treatment, but new studies show cause for optimism in this population. These patients are harder to reach, and they may be less medication compliant, but one study (abstract 1632) found that imperfect adherence doesn’t necessarily undermine results – in a 12-week regimen, patients who didn’t finish until 14 weeks had no significant difference in SVR rates.

“So these therapies have a bit of forgiveness. We probably shouldn’t tell that to the patients, but it’s reassuring that we can use these therapies even in tough-to-reach populations,” said Dr. Feld.
 

SAN FRANCISCO – Hepatitis C therapy has matured and now offers excellent sustained viral response (SVR) in the vast majority of cases, but key challenges remain in getting the therapy to those who need it.

“Unfortunately, we’re not making some of the progress we might have hoped to see, particularly in North America,” said Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, who gave a debrief of hepatitis C abstracts during a wrap-up session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

The problem is particularly acute in young adults aged 18-39 years – only about 9% of those who tested positive for HCV RNA saw a specialist, and about 23% of those who saw a specialist went on to receive treatment, according to an analysis of over 17 million patients in the United States (abstract 1567). The numbers were better for older adults but still far from optimal, with 23% who tested positive seeing a specialist, and just 32% of those patients getting treatment.

Another study (abstract 0147) looked state by state at the percentage of Medicaid patients who received a prescription for direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medication and then went on to fill the prescription. The rates ranged from 0% in Alaska to 96% in Connecticut. Eight states were higher than 70%, six were between 50% and 70%, and 15 states were below 50%.

“Despite our efforts, there continue to be major access barriers across the U.S., particularly for Medicaid individuals,” said Dr. Feld, who is a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Liver Clinic and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

A study examining the Chronic Hepatitis (CHeCS) cohort (abstract 0585) described a big spike in treatment uptake shortly after approvals of the new HCV regimens, but by 2016, only about one-third of individuals who required treatment actually began treatment. Factors associated with nontreatment largely reflected marginalization, including low income, being on Medicaid, and lack of long-term follow-up.

Even as health systems struggle to get treatment to those who need it, new studies are showing how to expand existing treatments into new populations.

Results from the EXPEDITION 8 study (abstract LB-7) showed efficacy of an 8-week regimen of the glecaprevir/pibrentasvir combination in patients with compensated cirrhosis. It looked at genotypes 1, 2, and 4-6. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 98% attained SVR and there were no viral failures or safety concerns. A follow-up trial is ongoing that includes patients with genotype 3. “This is exciting to be able to shorten therapy in patients with cirrhosis,” said Dr. Feld.

Although first-line DAAs are extremely effective, there are a few patients who do not achieve a cure. One study (abstract 0227) examined the combination of sofosbuvir, velpatasvir, and voxilaprevir in retreatment of these patients. The drugs resulted in SVR rates similar to those in registration trials, but the regimen was somewhat less effective in patients previously treated with sofosbuvir and velpatasvir. “I think we need to investigate that further,” said Dr. Feld.

The combination of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir also proved effective for retreatment in patients with genotype 1/1A who had failed treatment with an NS5A inhibitor plus sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin (abstract 226). SVR rates at 16 weeks were quite good, but lower in genotype 1a patients at 12 weeks (87% week 12 versus 94% week 16).”I think this is a really good regimen for genotype 1b. For 1a, serum definitely needs 16 weeks [to clear],” said Dr. Feld.

Other abstracts presented at the meeting detailed some of the benefits of SVR, not all of which are broadly appreciated. An analysis of the Hepatitis Testers Cohort in British Columbia (abstract 145), which includes over 7,000 patients who were followed for a median of 2 years (DAA) or 9.5 years (interferon-based), showed survival advantages to SVR in both cirrhotic (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.14) and noncirrhotic patients (aHR, 0.13). Other benefits include lower risk of diabetes (aHR, 0.53), chronic kidney disease/endstage renal disease (aHR, 0.48), stroke (aHR, 0.67), and mood and anxiety disorders (aHR, 0.53) (abstract 148).

As is generally accepted, SVR reduces the risk of hepatocellular cancer (HCC), according to analyses of VA and Gilead data (abstract 635), with a benefit in both cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients. The risk almost disappears in patients without cirrhosis (incidence rate 0.07 per 100 person-years and is curbed in cirrhotic patients (incidence rate 1.30 in compensated, 4.05 in decompensated cirrhosis).

“There is really very significantly high incidence in cancer in decompensated cirrhosis, which just highlights that these patients continue to need ongoing surveillance. Although there have been efforts at developing strategies to risk stratify patients with cirrhosis, at least for now we’re stuck with surveillance, but I think for patients without cirrhosis there are now enough data showing a low enough incidence of primary HCC that we can probably avoid surveillance in that group,” said Dr. Feld.

Injectable drug users represent a special challenge in hepatitis C treatment, but new studies show cause for optimism in this population. These patients are harder to reach, and they may be less medication compliant, but one study (abstract 1632) found that imperfect adherence doesn’t necessarily undermine results – in a 12-week regimen, patients who didn’t finish until 14 weeks had no significant difference in SVR rates.

“So these therapies have a bit of forgiveness. We probably shouldn’t tell that to the patients, but it’s reassuring that we can use these therapies even in tough-to-reach populations,” said Dr. Feld.
 

SAN FRANCISCO – Hepatitis C therapy has matured and now offers excellent sustained viral response (SVR) in the vast majority of cases, but key challenges remain in getting the therapy to those who need it.

“Unfortunately, we’re not making some of the progress we might have hoped to see, particularly in North America,” said Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, who gave a debrief of hepatitis C abstracts during a wrap-up session at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases.

The problem is particularly acute in young adults aged 18-39 years – only about 9% of those who tested positive for HCV RNA saw a specialist, and about 23% of those who saw a specialist went on to receive treatment, according to an analysis of over 17 million patients in the United States (abstract 1567). The numbers were better for older adults but still far from optimal, with 23% who tested positive seeing a specialist, and just 32% of those patients getting treatment.

Another study (abstract 0147) looked state by state at the percentage of Medicaid patients who received a prescription for direct-acting antiviral (DAA) medication and then went on to fill the prescription. The rates ranged from 0% in Alaska to 96% in Connecticut. Eight states were higher than 70%, six were between 50% and 70%, and 15 states were below 50%.

“Despite our efforts, there continue to be major access barriers across the U.S., particularly for Medicaid individuals,” said Dr. Feld, who is a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Liver Clinic and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

A study examining the Chronic Hepatitis (CHeCS) cohort (abstract 0585) described a big spike in treatment uptake shortly after approvals of the new HCV regimens, but by 2016, only about one-third of individuals who required treatment actually began treatment. Factors associated with nontreatment largely reflected marginalization, including low income, being on Medicaid, and lack of long-term follow-up.

Even as health systems struggle to get treatment to those who need it, new studies are showing how to expand existing treatments into new populations.

Results from the EXPEDITION 8 study (abstract LB-7) showed efficacy of an 8-week regimen of the glecaprevir/pibrentasvir combination in patients with compensated cirrhosis. It looked at genotypes 1, 2, and 4-6. In an intention-to-treat analysis, 98% attained SVR and there were no viral failures or safety concerns. A follow-up trial is ongoing that includes patients with genotype 3. “This is exciting to be able to shorten therapy in patients with cirrhosis,” said Dr. Feld.

Although first-line DAAs are extremely effective, there are a few patients who do not achieve a cure. One study (abstract 0227) examined the combination of sofosbuvir, velpatasvir, and voxilaprevir in retreatment of these patients. The drugs resulted in SVR rates similar to those in registration trials, but the regimen was somewhat less effective in patients previously treated with sofosbuvir and velpatasvir. “I think we need to investigate that further,” said Dr. Feld.

The combination of glecaprevir and pibrentasvir also proved effective for retreatment in patients with genotype 1/1A who had failed treatment with an NS5A inhibitor plus sofosbuvir with or without ribavirin (abstract 226). SVR rates at 16 weeks were quite good, but lower in genotype 1a patients at 12 weeks (87% week 12 versus 94% week 16).”I think this is a really good regimen for genotype 1b. For 1a, serum definitely needs 16 weeks [to clear],” said Dr. Feld.

Other abstracts presented at the meeting detailed some of the benefits of SVR, not all of which are broadly appreciated. An analysis of the Hepatitis Testers Cohort in British Columbia (abstract 145), which includes over 7,000 patients who were followed for a median of 2 years (DAA) or 9.5 years (interferon-based), showed survival advantages to SVR in both cirrhotic (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.14) and noncirrhotic patients (aHR, 0.13). Other benefits include lower risk of diabetes (aHR, 0.53), chronic kidney disease/endstage renal disease (aHR, 0.48), stroke (aHR, 0.67), and mood and anxiety disorders (aHR, 0.53) (abstract 148).

As is generally accepted, SVR reduces the risk of hepatocellular cancer (HCC), according to analyses of VA and Gilead data (abstract 635), with a benefit in both cirrhotic and noncirrhotic patients. The risk almost disappears in patients without cirrhosis (incidence rate 0.07 per 100 person-years and is curbed in cirrhotic patients (incidence rate 1.30 in compensated, 4.05 in decompensated cirrhosis).

“There is really very significantly high incidence in cancer in decompensated cirrhosis, which just highlights that these patients continue to need ongoing surveillance. Although there have been efforts at developing strategies to risk stratify patients with cirrhosis, at least for now we’re stuck with surveillance, but I think for patients without cirrhosis there are now enough data showing a low enough incidence of primary HCC that we can probably avoid surveillance in that group,” said Dr. Feld.

Injectable drug users represent a special challenge in hepatitis C treatment, but new studies show cause for optimism in this population. These patients are harder to reach, and they may be less medication compliant, but one study (abstract 1632) found that imperfect adherence doesn’t necessarily undermine results – in a 12-week regimen, patients who didn’t finish until 14 weeks had no significant difference in SVR rates.

“So these therapies have a bit of forgiveness. We probably shouldn’t tell that to the patients, but it’s reassuring that we can use these therapies even in tough-to-reach populations,” said Dr. Feld.
 

With intensive insulin regimens and home blood glucose monitoring, patients with type 1 diabetes are controlling their blood glucose better than in the past. Nevertheless, glucose regulation is still imperfect and tedious, and striving for tight glycemic control poses the risk of hypoglycemia.

Prominent among the challenges are the sheer numbers involved. Some 1.25 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, and another 30 million have type 2, but only about 7,000 to 8,000 pancreases are available for transplant each year.¹ While awaiting a breakthrough—perhaps involving stem cells, perhaps involving organs obtained from animals—an insulin pump may offer better diabetes control for many. Another possibility is a closed-loop system with a continuous glucose monitor that drives a dual-infusion pump, delivering insulin when glucose levels rise too high, and glucagon when they dip too low.

DIABETES WAS KNOWN IN ANCIENT TIMES

About 3,000 years ago, Egyptians described the syndrome of thirst, emaciation, and sweet urine that attracted ants. The term diabetes (Greek for siphon) was first recorded in 1425; mellitus (Latin for sweet with honey) was not added until 1675.

In 1857, Bernard hypothesized that diabetes was caused by overproduction of glucose in the liver. This idea was replaced in 1889, when Mering and Minkowski proposed the dysfunctional pancreas theory that eventually led to the discovery of the beta cell.²

In 1921, Banting and Best isolated insulin, and for the past 100 years subcutaneous insulin replacement has been the mainstay of treatment. But starting about 50 years ago, researchers have been looking for safe and long-lasting ways to replace beta cells and eliminate the need for exogenous insulin replacement.

TRANSPLANTING THE WHOLE PANCREAS

The first whole-pancreas transplant was performed in 1966 by Kelly et al,³ followed by 13 more by 1973.⁴ These first transplant grafts were short-lived, with only 1 graft surviving longer than 1 year. Since then, more than 12,000 pancreases have been transplanted worldwide, as refinements in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapies have improved patient and graft survival rates.⁴

Today, most pancreas transplants are in patients who have both type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease due to diabetic neph­ropathy, and most receive both a kidney and a pancreas at the same time. Far fewer patients receive a pancreas after previously receiving a kidney, or receive a pancreas alone.

The bile duct of the transplanted pancreas is usually routed into the patient’s small intestine, as nature intended, and less often into the bladder. Although bladder drainage is associated with urinary complications, it has the advantage of allowing measurement of pancreatic amylase levels in the urine to monitor for graft rejection. With simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant, the serum creatinine concentration can also be monitored for rejection of the kidney graft.

Current immunosuppressive regimens vary but generally consist of anti-T-cell antibodies at the time of surgery, followed by lifelong treatment with the combination of a calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporine or tacrolimus) and an antimetabolite (mycophenolate mofetil or azathioprine).

Outcomes are good. The rates of patient and graft survival are highest with simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, and somewhat lower with pancreas-after-kidney and pancreas-alone transplant.

Benefits of pancreas transplant

Most recipients can stop taking insulin immediately after the procedure, and their hemoglobin A_1c levels normalize and stay low for the life of the graft. Lipid levels also decrease, although this has not been directly correlated with lower risk of vascular disease.⁴

Transplant also reduces or eliminates some complications of diabetes, including retinopathy, nephropathy, cardiomyopathy, and gastropathy.

For example, in patients undergoing simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, diabetic nephropathy does not recur in the new kidney. Fioretto et al⁵ reported that nephropathy lesions reversed during the 10 years after pancreas transplant.

Kennedy et al^6,7 found that preexisting diabetic neuropathy improved slightly (although neurologic status did not completely return to normal) over a period of up to 42 months in a group of patients who received a pancreas transplant, whereas it tended to worsen in a control group. Both groups were assessed at baseline and at 12 and 24 months, with a subgroup followed through 42 months, and they underwent testing of motor, sensory, and autonomic function.^6,7

Disadvantages of pancreas transplant

Disadvantages of whole-pancreas transplant include hypoglycemia (usually mild), adverse effects of immunosuppression, potential for surgical complications including an increased rate of death in the first 90 days after the procedure, and cost.

In an analysis comparing the 5-year estimated costs of dialysis, kidney transplant alone from cadavers or live donors, or simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant for diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease, the least expensive option was kidney transplant from a live donor.⁸ The most expensive option was simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, but quality of life was better with this option. The analysis did not consider the potential cost of long-term treatments for complications related to diabetes that could be saved with a pancreas transplant.

Data conflict regarding the risk of death with different types of pancreas transplants. A retrospective cohort study of data from 124 US transplant centers reported in 2003 found higher mortality rates in pancreas-alone transplant recipients than in patients on a transplant waiting list receiving conventional therapy.⁹ In contrast, a 2004 study reported that after the first 90 days, when the risk of death was clearly higher, mortality rates were lower after simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant and pancreas-after-kidney transplant.¹⁰ After pancreas-alone transplant, however, mortality rates were higher than with exogenous insulin therapy.

Although outcomes have improved, fewer patients with type 1 diabetes are undergoing pancreas transplant in recent years.

Interestingly, more simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants are being successfully performed in patients with type 2 diabetes, who now account for 8% of all simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients.¹¹ Outcomes of pancreas transplant appear to be similar regardless of diabetes type.

Bottom line

Pancreas transplant is a viable option for certain cases of complicated diabetes.

TRANSPLANTING ISLET CELLS

Despite its successes, pancreas transplant is major surgery and requires lifetime immunosuppression. Research is ongoing into a less-invasive procedure that, it is hoped, would require less immunosuppression: transplanting islets by themselves.

Islet autotransplant after pancreatectomy

For some patients with chronic pancreatitis, the only option to relieve chronic pain, narcotic dependence, and poor quality of life is to remove the pancreas. In the past, this desperate measure would instantly and inevitably cause diabetes, but not anymore.

Alpha cells and glucagon are a different story; a complication of islet transplant is hypoglycemia. In 2016, Lin et al¹² reported spontaneous hypoglycemia in 6 of 12 patients who maintained insulin independence after autotransplant of islets. Although the transplanted islets had functional alpha cells that could in theory produce glucagon, as well as beta cells that produce insulin and C-peptide, apparently the alpha cells were not secreting glucagon in response to the hypoglycemia.

Location may matter. Gupta et al,¹³ in a 1997 study in dogs, found that more hypoglycemia occurs if islets are autotransplanted into the liver than if they are transplanted into the peritoneal cavity. A possible explanation may have to do with the glycemic environment of the liver.

Islet allotransplant

Islets can also be taken from cadaver donors and transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes, who do not have enough working beta cells.

Success of allotransplant increased after the publication of observational data from the program in Edmonton in Canada, in which 7 consecutive patients with type 1 diabetes achieved initial insulin independence after islet allotransplant using steroid-free immunosuppression.¹⁴ Six recipients required islets from 2 donors, and 1 required islets from 4 donors, so they all received large volumes of at least 11,000 islet equivalents (IEQ) per kilogram of body weight.

In a subsequent report from the same team,¹⁵ 16 (44%) of 36 patients remained insulin-free at 1 year, and C-peptide secretion was detectable in 70% at 2 years. But despite the elevated C-peptide levels, only 5 patients remained insulin-independent by 2 years. Lower hemoglobin A_1c levels and decreases in hypoglycemic events from baseline also were noted.

The Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium (CITC)¹⁶ and Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR)¹⁷ were established in 2004 to combine data and resources from centers around the world, including several that specialize in islet isolation and purification. Currently, more than 80 studies are being conducted.

The CITC and CITR now have data on more than 1,000 allogeneic islet transplant recipients (islet transplant alone, after kidney transplant, or simultaneous with it). The primary outcomes are hemoglobin A_1c levels below 7% fasting C-peptide levels 0.3 ng/mL or higher, and fasting blood glucose of 60 to 140 mg/dL with no severe hypoglycemic events. The best results for islet-alone transplant have been in recipients over age 35 who received at least 325,000 IEQs with use of tumor necrosis factor antagonists for induction and calcineurin inhibitors or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors for maintenance.¹⁷

The best success for islet-after-kidney transplant was achieved with the same protocol but with insulin given to the donor during hospitalization before pancreas procurement. For participants with favorable factors, a hemoglobin A_1c at or below 6.5% was achieved in about 80% at 1 year after last infusion, with more than 80% maintaining their fasting blood glucose level goals. About 70% of these patients were insulin-independent at 1 year. Hypoglycemia unawareness resolved in these patients even 5 years after infusion. Although there were no deaths or disabilities related to these transplants, bleeding occurred in 1 of 15 procedures. There was also a notable decline in estimated glomerular filtration rates with calcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppression.¹⁷

Making islets go farther

One of the greatest challenges to islet transplant is the need for multiple donors to provide enough islet cells to overcome the loss of cells during transplant. Pancreases are already in short supply, and if each recipient needs more than 1, this makes the shortage worse. Some centers have achieved transplant with fewer donors,^18,19 possibly by selecting pancreases from young donors who had a high body mass index and more islet cells, and harvesting and using them with a shorter cold ischemic time.

The number of viable, functioning islet cells drastically decreases after transplant, especially when transplanted into the portal system. This phenomenon is linked to an instant, blood-mediated inflammatory reaction involving antibody binding, complement and coagulation cascade activation, and platelet aggregation. The reaction, part of the innate immune system, damages the islet cells and leads to insulin dumping and early graft loss in studies in vitro and in vivo. Another factor affecting the survival of the graft cells is the low oxygen tension in the portal system.

For this reason, sites such as the pancreas, gastric submucosa, genitourinary tract, muscle, omentum, bone marrow, kidney capsule, peritoneum, anterior eye chamber, testis, and thymus are being explored.²⁰

To create a more supportive environment for the transplanted cells, biotechnicians are trying to encapsulate islets in a semipermeable membrane that would protect them from the immune system while still allowing oxygen, nutrients, waste products, and, critically, insulin to diffuse in and out. Currently, no site or encapsulated product has been more successful than the current practice of implanting naked islets in the portal system.²⁰

Bottom line

Without advances in transplant sites or increasing the yield of islet cells to allow single-donor transplants, islet cell allotransplant will not be feasible for most patients with type 1 diabetes.

Xenotransplant: Can pig cells make up the shortage?

Use of animal kidneys (xenotransplant) is a potential solution to the shortage of human organs for transplant.

In theory, pigs could be a source. Porcine insulin is similar to human insulin (differing by only 1 amino acid), and it should be possible to breed “knockout” pigs that lack the antigens responsible for acute humoral rejection.²¹

On the other hand, transplant of porcine islets poses several immunologic, physiologic, ethical, legal, and infectious concerns. For example, porcine tissue could carry pig viruses, such as porcine endogenous retroviruses.²¹ And even if the pigs are genetically modified, patients will still require immunosuppressive therapy.

A review of 17 studies of pig islet xenotransplant into nonhuman primates found that in 5 of the studies (4 using diabetic primates) the grafts survived at least 3 months.²² Of these, 1 study used encapsulation, and the rest used intensive and toxic immunosuppression.

More research is needed to make xenotransplant a clinical option.

Transplanting stem cells or beta cells grown from stem cells

Stem cells provide an exciting potential alternative to the limited donor pool. During the past decade, several studies have shown success using human pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells), mesenchymal stem cells isolated from adult tissues, and directly programmed somatic cells. Researchers have created stable cultures of pluripotent stem cells from embryonic stem cells, which could possibly be produced on a large scale and banked.²³

Human pluripotent stem cells derived from pancreatic progenitors have been shown to mature into more functional, islet-like structures in vivo. They transform into subtypes of islet cells including alpha, beta, and delta cells, ghrelin-producing cells, and pancreatic polypeptide hormone-producing cells. This process takes 2 to 6 weeks. In mice, these cells have been shown to maintain glucose homeostasis.²⁴ Phase 1 and 2 trials in humans are now being conducted.

Pagliuca et al²⁵ generated functional human pancreatic beta cells in vitro from embryonic stem cells. Rezania et al²⁴ reversed diabetes with insulin-producing cells derived in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells. The techniques used in these studies contributed to the success of a study by Vegas et al,²⁶ who achieved successful long-term glycemic control in mice using polymer-encapsulated human stem cell-derived beta cells.

Reversal of autoimmunity is an important step that needs to be overcome in stem cell transplant for type 1 diabetes. Nikolic et al²⁷ have achieved mixed allogeneic chimerism across major histocompatibility complex barriers with nonmyeloablative conditioning in advanced-diabetic nonobese diabetic mice. However, conditioning alone (ie, without bone marrow transplant) does not permit acceptance of allogeneic islets and does not reverse autoimmunity or allow islet regeneration.²⁸ Adding allogeneic bone marrow transplant to conditioned nonobese diabetic mice leads to tolerance to the donor and reverses autoimmunity.

THE ‘BIONIC’ PANCREAS

While we wait for advances in islet cell transplant, improved insulin pumps hold promise.

One such experimental device, the iLet (Beta Bionics, Boston, MA), designed by Damiano et al, consists of 2 infusion pumps (1 for insulin, 1 for glucagon) linked to a continuous glucose monitor via a smartphone app.

The monitor measures the glucose level every 5 minutes and transmits the information wirelessly to the phone app, which calculates the amount of insulin and glucagon required to stabilize the blood glucose: more insulin if too high, more glucagon if too low. The phone transmits this information to the pumps.

Dubbed the “bionic” pancreas, this closed-loop system frees patients from the tasks of measuring their glucose multiple times a day, calculating the appropriate dose, and giving multiple insulin injections.

The 2016 summer camp study²⁹ followed 19 preteens wearing the bionic pancreas for 5 days. During this time, the patients had lower mean glucose levels and less hypoglycemia than during control periods. No episodes of severe hypoglycemia were recorded.

El-Khatib et al³⁰ randomly assigned 43 patients to treatment with either the bihormonal bionic pancreas or usual care (a conventional insulin pump or a sensor-augmented insulin pump) for 11 days, followed by 11 days of the opposite treatment. All participants continued their normal activities. The bionic pancreas system was superior to the insulin pump in terms of the mean glucose concentration and mean time in the hypoglycemic range (P < .0001 for both results).

Bottom line

As the search continues for better solutions, advances in technology such as the bionic pancreas could provide a safer (ie, less hypoglycemic) and more successful alternative for insulin replacement in the near future.

With intensive insulin regimens and home blood glucose monitoring, patients with type 1 diabetes are controlling their blood glucose better than in the past. Nevertheless, glucose regulation is still imperfect and tedious, and striving for tight glycemic control poses the risk of hypoglycemia.

Prominent among the challenges are the sheer numbers involved. Some 1.25 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, and another 30 million have type 2, but only about 7,000 to 8,000 pancreases are available for transplant each year.¹ While awaiting a breakthrough—perhaps involving stem cells, perhaps involving organs obtained from animals—an insulin pump may offer better diabetes control for many. Another possibility is a closed-loop system with a continuous glucose monitor that drives a dual-infusion pump, delivering insulin when glucose levels rise too high, and glucagon when they dip too low.

DIABETES WAS KNOWN IN ANCIENT TIMES

About 3,000 years ago, Egyptians described the syndrome of thirst, emaciation, and sweet urine that attracted ants. The term diabetes (Greek for siphon) was first recorded in 1425; mellitus (Latin for sweet with honey) was not added until 1675.

In 1857, Bernard hypothesized that diabetes was caused by overproduction of glucose in the liver. This idea was replaced in 1889, when Mering and Minkowski proposed the dysfunctional pancreas theory that eventually led to the discovery of the beta cell.²

In 1921, Banting and Best isolated insulin, and for the past 100 years subcutaneous insulin replacement has been the mainstay of treatment. But starting about 50 years ago, researchers have been looking for safe and long-lasting ways to replace beta cells and eliminate the need for exogenous insulin replacement.

TRANSPLANTING THE WHOLE PANCREAS

The first whole-pancreas transplant was performed in 1966 by Kelly et al,³ followed by 13 more by 1973.⁴ These first transplant grafts were short-lived, with only 1 graft surviving longer than 1 year. Since then, more than 12,000 pancreases have been transplanted worldwide, as refinements in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapies have improved patient and graft survival rates.⁴

Today, most pancreas transplants are in patients who have both type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease due to diabetic neph­ropathy, and most receive both a kidney and a pancreas at the same time. Far fewer patients receive a pancreas after previously receiving a kidney, or receive a pancreas alone.

The bile duct of the transplanted pancreas is usually routed into the patient’s small intestine, as nature intended, and less often into the bladder. Although bladder drainage is associated with urinary complications, it has the advantage of allowing measurement of pancreatic amylase levels in the urine to monitor for graft rejection. With simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant, the serum creatinine concentration can also be monitored for rejection of the kidney graft.

Current immunosuppressive regimens vary but generally consist of anti-T-cell antibodies at the time of surgery, followed by lifelong treatment with the combination of a calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporine or tacrolimus) and an antimetabolite (mycophenolate mofetil or azathioprine).

Outcomes are good. The rates of patient and graft survival are highest with simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, and somewhat lower with pancreas-after-kidney and pancreas-alone transplant.

Benefits of pancreas transplant

Most recipients can stop taking insulin immediately after the procedure, and their hemoglobin A_1c levels normalize and stay low for the life of the graft. Lipid levels also decrease, although this has not been directly correlated with lower risk of vascular disease.⁴

Transplant also reduces or eliminates some complications of diabetes, including retinopathy, nephropathy, cardiomyopathy, and gastropathy.

For example, in patients undergoing simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, diabetic nephropathy does not recur in the new kidney. Fioretto et al⁵ reported that nephropathy lesions reversed during the 10 years after pancreas transplant.

Kennedy et al^6,7 found that preexisting diabetic neuropathy improved slightly (although neurologic status did not completely return to normal) over a period of up to 42 months in a group of patients who received a pancreas transplant, whereas it tended to worsen in a control group. Both groups were assessed at baseline and at 12 and 24 months, with a subgroup followed through 42 months, and they underwent testing of motor, sensory, and autonomic function.^6,7

Disadvantages of pancreas transplant

Disadvantages of whole-pancreas transplant include hypoglycemia (usually mild), adverse effects of immunosuppression, potential for surgical complications including an increased rate of death in the first 90 days after the procedure, and cost.

In an analysis comparing the 5-year estimated costs of dialysis, kidney transplant alone from cadavers or live donors, or simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant for diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease, the least expensive option was kidney transplant from a live donor.⁸ The most expensive option was simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, but quality of life was better with this option. The analysis did not consider the potential cost of long-term treatments for complications related to diabetes that could be saved with a pancreas transplant.

Data conflict regarding the risk of death with different types of pancreas transplants. A retrospective cohort study of data from 124 US transplant centers reported in 2003 found higher mortality rates in pancreas-alone transplant recipients than in patients on a transplant waiting list receiving conventional therapy.⁹ In contrast, a 2004 study reported that after the first 90 days, when the risk of death was clearly higher, mortality rates were lower after simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant and pancreas-after-kidney transplant.¹⁰ After pancreas-alone transplant, however, mortality rates were higher than with exogenous insulin therapy.

Although outcomes have improved, fewer patients with type 1 diabetes are undergoing pancreas transplant in recent years.

Interestingly, more simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants are being successfully performed in patients with type 2 diabetes, who now account for 8% of all simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients.¹¹ Outcomes of pancreas transplant appear to be similar regardless of diabetes type.

Bottom line

Pancreas transplant is a viable option for certain cases of complicated diabetes.

TRANSPLANTING ISLET CELLS

Despite its successes, pancreas transplant is major surgery and requires lifetime immunosuppression. Research is ongoing into a less-invasive procedure that, it is hoped, would require less immunosuppression: transplanting islets by themselves.

Islet autotransplant after pancreatectomy

For some patients with chronic pancreatitis, the only option to relieve chronic pain, narcotic dependence, and poor quality of life is to remove the pancreas. In the past, this desperate measure would instantly and inevitably cause diabetes, but not anymore.

Alpha cells and glucagon are a different story; a complication of islet transplant is hypoglycemia. In 2016, Lin et al¹² reported spontaneous hypoglycemia in 6 of 12 patients who maintained insulin independence after autotransplant of islets. Although the transplanted islets had functional alpha cells that could in theory produce glucagon, as well as beta cells that produce insulin and C-peptide, apparently the alpha cells were not secreting glucagon in response to the hypoglycemia.

Location may matter. Gupta et al,¹³ in a 1997 study in dogs, found that more hypoglycemia occurs if islets are autotransplanted into the liver than if they are transplanted into the peritoneal cavity. A possible explanation may have to do with the glycemic environment of the liver.

Islet allotransplant

Islets can also be taken from cadaver donors and transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes, who do not have enough working beta cells.

Success of allotransplant increased after the publication of observational data from the program in Edmonton in Canada, in which 7 consecutive patients with type 1 diabetes achieved initial insulin independence after islet allotransplant using steroid-free immunosuppression.¹⁴ Six recipients required islets from 2 donors, and 1 required islets from 4 donors, so they all received large volumes of at least 11,000 islet equivalents (IEQ) per kilogram of body weight.

In a subsequent report from the same team,¹⁵ 16 (44%) of 36 patients remained insulin-free at 1 year, and C-peptide secretion was detectable in 70% at 2 years. But despite the elevated C-peptide levels, only 5 patients remained insulin-independent by 2 years. Lower hemoglobin A_1c levels and decreases in hypoglycemic events from baseline also were noted.

The Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium (CITC)¹⁶ and Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR)¹⁷ were established in 2004 to combine data and resources from centers around the world, including several that specialize in islet isolation and purification. Currently, more than 80 studies are being conducted.

The CITC and CITR now have data on more than 1,000 allogeneic islet transplant recipients (islet transplant alone, after kidney transplant, or simultaneous with it). The primary outcomes are hemoglobin A_1c levels below 7% fasting C-peptide levels 0.3 ng/mL or higher, and fasting blood glucose of 60 to 140 mg/dL with no severe hypoglycemic events. The best results for islet-alone transplant have been in recipients over age 35 who received at least 325,000 IEQs with use of tumor necrosis factor antagonists for induction and calcineurin inhibitors or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors for maintenance.¹⁷

The best success for islet-after-kidney transplant was achieved with the same protocol but with insulin given to the donor during hospitalization before pancreas procurement. For participants with favorable factors, a hemoglobin A_1c at or below 6.5% was achieved in about 80% at 1 year after last infusion, with more than 80% maintaining their fasting blood glucose level goals. About 70% of these patients were insulin-independent at 1 year. Hypoglycemia unawareness resolved in these patients even 5 years after infusion. Although there were no deaths or disabilities related to these transplants, bleeding occurred in 1 of 15 procedures. There was also a notable decline in estimated glomerular filtration rates with calcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppression.¹⁷

Making islets go farther

One of the greatest challenges to islet transplant is the need for multiple donors to provide enough islet cells to overcome the loss of cells during transplant. Pancreases are already in short supply, and if each recipient needs more than 1, this makes the shortage worse. Some centers have achieved transplant with fewer donors,^18,19 possibly by selecting pancreases from young donors who had a high body mass index and more islet cells, and harvesting and using them with a shorter cold ischemic time.

The number of viable, functioning islet cells drastically decreases after transplant, especially when transplanted into the portal system. This phenomenon is linked to an instant, blood-mediated inflammatory reaction involving antibody binding, complement and coagulation cascade activation, and platelet aggregation. The reaction, part of the innate immune system, damages the islet cells and leads to insulin dumping and early graft loss in studies in vitro and in vivo. Another factor affecting the survival of the graft cells is the low oxygen tension in the portal system.

For this reason, sites such as the pancreas, gastric submucosa, genitourinary tract, muscle, omentum, bone marrow, kidney capsule, peritoneum, anterior eye chamber, testis, and thymus are being explored.²⁰

To create a more supportive environment for the transplanted cells, biotechnicians are trying to encapsulate islets in a semipermeable membrane that would protect them from the immune system while still allowing oxygen, nutrients, waste products, and, critically, insulin to diffuse in and out. Currently, no site or encapsulated product has been more successful than the current practice of implanting naked islets in the portal system.²⁰

Bottom line

Without advances in transplant sites or increasing the yield of islet cells to allow single-donor transplants, islet cell allotransplant will not be feasible for most patients with type 1 diabetes.

Xenotransplant: Can pig cells make up the shortage?

Use of animal kidneys (xenotransplant) is a potential solution to the shortage of human organs for transplant.

In theory, pigs could be a source. Porcine insulin is similar to human insulin (differing by only 1 amino acid), and it should be possible to breed “knockout” pigs that lack the antigens responsible for acute humoral rejection.²¹

On the other hand, transplant of porcine islets poses several immunologic, physiologic, ethical, legal, and infectious concerns. For example, porcine tissue could carry pig viruses, such as porcine endogenous retroviruses.²¹ And even if the pigs are genetically modified, patients will still require immunosuppressive therapy.

A review of 17 studies of pig islet xenotransplant into nonhuman primates found that in 5 of the studies (4 using diabetic primates) the grafts survived at least 3 months.²² Of these, 1 study used encapsulation, and the rest used intensive and toxic immunosuppression.

More research is needed to make xenotransplant a clinical option.

Transplanting stem cells or beta cells grown from stem cells

Stem cells provide an exciting potential alternative to the limited donor pool. During the past decade, several studies have shown success using human pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells), mesenchymal stem cells isolated from adult tissues, and directly programmed somatic cells. Researchers have created stable cultures of pluripotent stem cells from embryonic stem cells, which could possibly be produced on a large scale and banked.²³

Human pluripotent stem cells derived from pancreatic progenitors have been shown to mature into more functional, islet-like structures in vivo. They transform into subtypes of islet cells including alpha, beta, and delta cells, ghrelin-producing cells, and pancreatic polypeptide hormone-producing cells. This process takes 2 to 6 weeks. In mice, these cells have been shown to maintain glucose homeostasis.²⁴ Phase 1 and 2 trials in humans are now being conducted.

Pagliuca et al²⁵ generated functional human pancreatic beta cells in vitro from embryonic stem cells. Rezania et al²⁴ reversed diabetes with insulin-producing cells derived in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells. The techniques used in these studies contributed to the success of a study by Vegas et al,²⁶ who achieved successful long-term glycemic control in mice using polymer-encapsulated human stem cell-derived beta cells.

Reversal of autoimmunity is an important step that needs to be overcome in stem cell transplant for type 1 diabetes. Nikolic et al²⁷ have achieved mixed allogeneic chimerism across major histocompatibility complex barriers with nonmyeloablative conditioning in advanced-diabetic nonobese diabetic mice. However, conditioning alone (ie, without bone marrow transplant) does not permit acceptance of allogeneic islets and does not reverse autoimmunity or allow islet regeneration.²⁸ Adding allogeneic bone marrow transplant to conditioned nonobese diabetic mice leads to tolerance to the donor and reverses autoimmunity.

THE ‘BIONIC’ PANCREAS

While we wait for advances in islet cell transplant, improved insulin pumps hold promise.

One such experimental device, the iLet (Beta Bionics, Boston, MA), designed by Damiano et al, consists of 2 infusion pumps (1 for insulin, 1 for glucagon) linked to a continuous glucose monitor via a smartphone app.

The monitor measures the glucose level every 5 minutes and transmits the information wirelessly to the phone app, which calculates the amount of insulin and glucagon required to stabilize the blood glucose: more insulin if too high, more glucagon if too low. The phone transmits this information to the pumps.

Dubbed the “bionic” pancreas, this closed-loop system frees patients from the tasks of measuring their glucose multiple times a day, calculating the appropriate dose, and giving multiple insulin injections.

The 2016 summer camp study²⁹ followed 19 preteens wearing the bionic pancreas for 5 days. During this time, the patients had lower mean glucose levels and less hypoglycemia than during control periods. No episodes of severe hypoglycemia were recorded.

El-Khatib et al³⁰ randomly assigned 43 patients to treatment with either the bihormonal bionic pancreas or usual care (a conventional insulin pump or a sensor-augmented insulin pump) for 11 days, followed by 11 days of the opposite treatment. All participants continued their normal activities. The bionic pancreas system was superior to the insulin pump in terms of the mean glucose concentration and mean time in the hypoglycemic range (P < .0001 for both results).

Bottom line

As the search continues for better solutions, advances in technology such as the bionic pancreas could provide a safer (ie, less hypoglycemic) and more successful alternative for insulin replacement in the near future.

With intensive insulin regimens and home blood glucose monitoring, patients with type 1 diabetes are controlling their blood glucose better than in the past. Nevertheless, glucose regulation is still imperfect and tedious, and striving for tight glycemic control poses the risk of hypoglycemia.

Prominent among the challenges are the sheer numbers involved. Some 1.25 million Americans have type 1 diabetes, and another 30 million have type 2, but only about 7,000 to 8,000 pancreases are available for transplant each year.¹ While awaiting a breakthrough—perhaps involving stem cells, perhaps involving organs obtained from animals—an insulin pump may offer better diabetes control for many. Another possibility is a closed-loop system with a continuous glucose monitor that drives a dual-infusion pump, delivering insulin when glucose levels rise too high, and glucagon when they dip too low.

DIABETES WAS KNOWN IN ANCIENT TIMES

About 3,000 years ago, Egyptians described the syndrome of thirst, emaciation, and sweet urine that attracted ants. The term diabetes (Greek for siphon) was first recorded in 1425; mellitus (Latin for sweet with honey) was not added until 1675.

In 1857, Bernard hypothesized that diabetes was caused by overproduction of glucose in the liver. This idea was replaced in 1889, when Mering and Minkowski proposed the dysfunctional pancreas theory that eventually led to the discovery of the beta cell.²

In 1921, Banting and Best isolated insulin, and for the past 100 years subcutaneous insulin replacement has been the mainstay of treatment. But starting about 50 years ago, researchers have been looking for safe and long-lasting ways to replace beta cells and eliminate the need for exogenous insulin replacement.

TRANSPLANTING THE WHOLE PANCREAS

The first whole-pancreas transplant was performed in 1966 by Kelly et al,³ followed by 13 more by 1973.⁴ These first transplant grafts were short-lived, with only 1 graft surviving longer than 1 year. Since then, more than 12,000 pancreases have been transplanted worldwide, as refinements in surgical techniques and immunosuppressive therapies have improved patient and graft survival rates.⁴

Today, most pancreas transplants are in patients who have both type 1 diabetes and end-stage renal disease due to diabetic neph­ropathy, and most receive both a kidney and a pancreas at the same time. Far fewer patients receive a pancreas after previously receiving a kidney, or receive a pancreas alone.

The bile duct of the transplanted pancreas is usually routed into the patient’s small intestine, as nature intended, and less often into the bladder. Although bladder drainage is associated with urinary complications, it has the advantage of allowing measurement of pancreatic amylase levels in the urine to monitor for graft rejection. With simultaneous pancreas and kidney transplant, the serum creatinine concentration can also be monitored for rejection of the kidney graft.

Current immunosuppressive regimens vary but generally consist of anti-T-cell antibodies at the time of surgery, followed by lifelong treatment with the combination of a calcineurin inhibitor (cyclosporine or tacrolimus) and an antimetabolite (mycophenolate mofetil or azathioprine).

Outcomes are good. The rates of patient and graft survival are highest with simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, and somewhat lower with pancreas-after-kidney and pancreas-alone transplant.

Benefits of pancreas transplant

Most recipients can stop taking insulin immediately after the procedure, and their hemoglobin A_1c levels normalize and stay low for the life of the graft. Lipid levels also decrease, although this has not been directly correlated with lower risk of vascular disease.⁴

Transplant also reduces or eliminates some complications of diabetes, including retinopathy, nephropathy, cardiomyopathy, and gastropathy.

For example, in patients undergoing simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, diabetic nephropathy does not recur in the new kidney. Fioretto et al⁵ reported that nephropathy lesions reversed during the 10 years after pancreas transplant.

Kennedy et al^6,7 found that preexisting diabetic neuropathy improved slightly (although neurologic status did not completely return to normal) over a period of up to 42 months in a group of patients who received a pancreas transplant, whereas it tended to worsen in a control group. Both groups were assessed at baseline and at 12 and 24 months, with a subgroup followed through 42 months, and they underwent testing of motor, sensory, and autonomic function.^6,7

Disadvantages of pancreas transplant

Disadvantages of whole-pancreas transplant include hypoglycemia (usually mild), adverse effects of immunosuppression, potential for surgical complications including an increased rate of death in the first 90 days after the procedure, and cost.

In an analysis comparing the 5-year estimated costs of dialysis, kidney transplant alone from cadavers or live donors, or simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant for diabetic patients with end-stage renal disease, the least expensive option was kidney transplant from a live donor.⁸ The most expensive option was simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant, but quality of life was better with this option. The analysis did not consider the potential cost of long-term treatments for complications related to diabetes that could be saved with a pancreas transplant.

Data conflict regarding the risk of death with different types of pancreas transplants. A retrospective cohort study of data from 124 US transplant centers reported in 2003 found higher mortality rates in pancreas-alone transplant recipients than in patients on a transplant waiting list receiving conventional therapy.⁹ In contrast, a 2004 study reported that after the first 90 days, when the risk of death was clearly higher, mortality rates were lower after simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant and pancreas-after-kidney transplant.¹⁰ After pancreas-alone transplant, however, mortality rates were higher than with exogenous insulin therapy.

Although outcomes have improved, fewer patients with type 1 diabetes are undergoing pancreas transplant in recent years.

Interestingly, more simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplants are being successfully performed in patients with type 2 diabetes, who now account for 8% of all simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplant recipients.¹¹ Outcomes of pancreas transplant appear to be similar regardless of diabetes type.

Bottom line

Pancreas transplant is a viable option for certain cases of complicated diabetes.

TRANSPLANTING ISLET CELLS

Despite its successes, pancreas transplant is major surgery and requires lifetime immunosuppression. Research is ongoing into a less-invasive procedure that, it is hoped, would require less immunosuppression: transplanting islets by themselves.

Islet autotransplant after pancreatectomy

For some patients with chronic pancreatitis, the only option to relieve chronic pain, narcotic dependence, and poor quality of life is to remove the pancreas. In the past, this desperate measure would instantly and inevitably cause diabetes, but not anymore.

Alpha cells and glucagon are a different story; a complication of islet transplant is hypoglycemia. In 2016, Lin et al¹² reported spontaneous hypoglycemia in 6 of 12 patients who maintained insulin independence after autotransplant of islets. Although the transplanted islets had functional alpha cells that could in theory produce glucagon, as well as beta cells that produce insulin and C-peptide, apparently the alpha cells were not secreting glucagon in response to the hypoglycemia.

Location may matter. Gupta et al,¹³ in a 1997 study in dogs, found that more hypoglycemia occurs if islets are autotransplanted into the liver than if they are transplanted into the peritoneal cavity. A possible explanation may have to do with the glycemic environment of the liver.

Islet allotransplant

Islets can also be taken from cadaver donors and transplanted into patients with type 1 diabetes, who do not have enough working beta cells.

Success of allotransplant increased after the publication of observational data from the program in Edmonton in Canada, in which 7 consecutive patients with type 1 diabetes achieved initial insulin independence after islet allotransplant using steroid-free immunosuppression.¹⁴ Six recipients required islets from 2 donors, and 1 required islets from 4 donors, so they all received large volumes of at least 11,000 islet equivalents (IEQ) per kilogram of body weight.

In a subsequent report from the same team,¹⁵ 16 (44%) of 36 patients remained insulin-free at 1 year, and C-peptide secretion was detectable in 70% at 2 years. But despite the elevated C-peptide levels, only 5 patients remained insulin-independent by 2 years. Lower hemoglobin A_1c levels and decreases in hypoglycemic events from baseline also were noted.

The Clinical Islet Transplantation Consortium (CITC)¹⁶ and Collaborative Islet Transplant Registry (CITR)¹⁷ were established in 2004 to combine data and resources from centers around the world, including several that specialize in islet isolation and purification. Currently, more than 80 studies are being conducted.

The CITC and CITR now have data on more than 1,000 allogeneic islet transplant recipients (islet transplant alone, after kidney transplant, or simultaneous with it). The primary outcomes are hemoglobin A_1c levels below 7% fasting C-peptide levels 0.3 ng/mL or higher, and fasting blood glucose of 60 to 140 mg/dL with no severe hypoglycemic events. The best results for islet-alone transplant have been in recipients over age 35 who received at least 325,000 IEQs with use of tumor necrosis factor antagonists for induction and calcineurin inhibitors or mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors for maintenance.¹⁷

The best success for islet-after-kidney transplant was achieved with the same protocol but with insulin given to the donor during hospitalization before pancreas procurement. For participants with favorable factors, a hemoglobin A_1c at or below 6.5% was achieved in about 80% at 1 year after last infusion, with more than 80% maintaining their fasting blood glucose level goals. About 70% of these patients were insulin-independent at 1 year. Hypoglycemia unawareness resolved in these patients even 5 years after infusion. Although there were no deaths or disabilities related to these transplants, bleeding occurred in 1 of 15 procedures. There was also a notable decline in estimated glomerular filtration rates with calcineurin inhibitor-based immunosuppression.¹⁷

Making islets go farther

One of the greatest challenges to islet transplant is the need for multiple donors to provide enough islet cells to overcome the loss of cells during transplant. Pancreases are already in short supply, and if each recipient needs more than 1, this makes the shortage worse. Some centers have achieved transplant with fewer donors,^18,19 possibly by selecting pancreases from young donors who had a high body mass index and more islet cells, and harvesting and using them with a shorter cold ischemic time.

The number of viable, functioning islet cells drastically decreases after transplant, especially when transplanted into the portal system. This phenomenon is linked to an instant, blood-mediated inflammatory reaction involving antibody binding, complement and coagulation cascade activation, and platelet aggregation. The reaction, part of the innate immune system, damages the islet cells and leads to insulin dumping and early graft loss in studies in vitro and in vivo. Another factor affecting the survival of the graft cells is the low oxygen tension in the portal system.

For this reason, sites such as the pancreas, gastric submucosa, genitourinary tract, muscle, omentum, bone marrow, kidney capsule, peritoneum, anterior eye chamber, testis, and thymus are being explored.²⁰

To create a more supportive environment for the transplanted cells, biotechnicians are trying to encapsulate islets in a semipermeable membrane that would protect them from the immune system while still allowing oxygen, nutrients, waste products, and, critically, insulin to diffuse in and out. Currently, no site or encapsulated product has been more successful than the current practice of implanting naked islets in the portal system.²⁰

Bottom line

Without advances in transplant sites or increasing the yield of islet cells to allow single-donor transplants, islet cell allotransplant will not be feasible for most patients with type 1 diabetes.

Xenotransplant: Can pig cells make up the shortage?

Use of animal kidneys (xenotransplant) is a potential solution to the shortage of human organs for transplant.

In theory, pigs could be a source. Porcine insulin is similar to human insulin (differing by only 1 amino acid), and it should be possible to breed “knockout” pigs that lack the antigens responsible for acute humoral rejection.²¹

On the other hand, transplant of porcine islets poses several immunologic, physiologic, ethical, legal, and infectious concerns. For example, porcine tissue could carry pig viruses, such as porcine endogenous retroviruses.²¹ And even if the pigs are genetically modified, patients will still require immunosuppressive therapy.

A review of 17 studies of pig islet xenotransplant into nonhuman primates found that in 5 of the studies (4 using diabetic primates) the grafts survived at least 3 months.²² Of these, 1 study used encapsulation, and the rest used intensive and toxic immunosuppression.

More research is needed to make xenotransplant a clinical option.

Transplanting stem cells or beta cells grown from stem cells

Stem cells provide an exciting potential alternative to the limited donor pool. During the past decade, several studies have shown success using human pluripotent stem cells (embryonic stem cells and human-induced pluripotent stem cells), mesenchymal stem cells isolated from adult tissues, and directly programmed somatic cells. Researchers have created stable cultures of pluripotent stem cells from embryonic stem cells, which could possibly be produced on a large scale and banked.²³

Human pluripotent stem cells derived from pancreatic progenitors have been shown to mature into more functional, islet-like structures in vivo. They transform into subtypes of islet cells including alpha, beta, and delta cells, ghrelin-producing cells, and pancreatic polypeptide hormone-producing cells. This process takes 2 to 6 weeks. In mice, these cells have been shown to maintain glucose homeostasis.²⁴ Phase 1 and 2 trials in humans are now being conducted.

Pagliuca et al²⁵ generated functional human pancreatic beta cells in vitro from embryonic stem cells. Rezania et al²⁴ reversed diabetes with insulin-producing cells derived in vitro from human pluripotent stem cells. The techniques used in these studies contributed to the success of a study by Vegas et al,²⁶ who achieved successful long-term glycemic control in mice using polymer-encapsulated human stem cell-derived beta cells.

Reversal of autoimmunity is an important step that needs to be overcome in stem cell transplant for type 1 diabetes. Nikolic et al²⁷ have achieved mixed allogeneic chimerism across major histocompatibility complex barriers with nonmyeloablative conditioning in advanced-diabetic nonobese diabetic mice. However, conditioning alone (ie, without bone marrow transplant) does not permit acceptance of allogeneic islets and does not reverse autoimmunity or allow islet regeneration.²⁸ Adding allogeneic bone marrow transplant to conditioned nonobese diabetic mice leads to tolerance to the donor and reverses autoimmunity.

THE ‘BIONIC’ PANCREAS

While we wait for advances in islet cell transplant, improved insulin pumps hold promise.

One such experimental device, the iLet (Beta Bionics, Boston, MA), designed by Damiano et al, consists of 2 infusion pumps (1 for insulin, 1 for glucagon) linked to a continuous glucose monitor via a smartphone app.

The monitor measures the glucose level every 5 minutes and transmits the information wirelessly to the phone app, which calculates the amount of insulin and glucagon required to stabilize the blood glucose: more insulin if too high, more glucagon if too low. The phone transmits this information to the pumps.

Dubbed the “bionic” pancreas, this closed-loop system frees patients from the tasks of measuring their glucose multiple times a day, calculating the appropriate dose, and giving multiple insulin injections.

The 2016 summer camp study²⁹ followed 19 preteens wearing the bionic pancreas for 5 days. During this time, the patients had lower mean glucose levels and less hypoglycemia than during control periods. No episodes of severe hypoglycemia were recorded.

El-Khatib et al³⁰ randomly assigned 43 patients to treatment with either the bihormonal bionic pancreas or usual care (a conventional insulin pump or a sensor-augmented insulin pump) for 11 days, followed by 11 days of the opposite treatment. All participants continued their normal activities. The bionic pancreas system was superior to the insulin pump in terms of the mean glucose concentration and mean time in the hypoglycemic range (P < .0001 for both results).

Bottom line

As the search continues for better solutions, advances in technology such as the bionic pancreas could provide a safer (ie, less hypoglycemic) and more successful alternative for insulin replacement in the near future.

SAN DIEGO – Daily hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell disease is feasible, safe, and effective for children in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the results of a large open-label, phase 1-2, international trial.

Andrew Bowser/MDedge News

Hydroxyurea was associated with reduced rates of malaria and other infections, resulting in improved survival, according to Léon Tshilolo, MD, PhD, of Centre Hospitalier Monkole in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Based on that data, we believe that wider access to hydroxyurea for sickle cell anemia has the potential to save millions of lives in Africa,” Dr. Tshilolo said in a press conference at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Use of hydroxyurea has been limited in Africa because of cost, access issues, and challenges associated with laboratory monitoring, according to the researchers.

Moreover, most of the data on the efficacy of hydroxyurea come from studies conducted in the United States, Europe, and other high-income settings, said the study’s senior author Russell E. Ware, MD, PhD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Center.

“Now that there’s data in an African setting, I think this will go a long way to advancing [hydroxyurea therapy] and encouraging governments, organizations, and pharmaceutical companies to bring it in,” Dr. Ware said in an interview.

In the study by Dr. Ware, Dr. Tshilolo, and their colleagues, 606 children in four sub-Saharan African countries completed a 2-month pretreatment screening phase designed to capture baseline clinical and laboratory data. The children, who were aged 1-10 years, were started at 15-20 mg/kg of hydroxyurea for 6 months, followed by escalation to the maximum tolerated dose.

With a median of 2.5 years of treatment, treated children experienced less pain and anemia, fewer cases of malaria and other infections, and lower rates of transfusions and death versus rates observed in the pretreatment screening phase of the trial.

The rate of vasoocclusive pain during hydroxyurea treatment was 44.6 events per 100 patient-years, compared with 98.3 events per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (incidence rate ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.37-0.56), according to data simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Malaria infection rates were 22.9 events per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea treatment period versus 46.9 events in the pretreatment period (IRR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.37-0.66). Rates of nonmalaria infections were 90.0 events per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea treatment period versus 142.5 events per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (IRR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.53-0.72).

Dr. Tshilolo said investigators were “encouraged” by the reduced infection rates, particularly in light of previous concerns that hydroxyurea could suppress the immune system and put children at risk for malaria.

Death rates were 1.1 per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea group and 3.6 per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (IR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.10-0.88). Dose-limiting toxic events occurred in 5.1% of the children, which was below the protocol-specified threshold for safety, Dr. Tshilolo added.

Dr. Tshilolo reported grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, along with nonfinancial support from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Ware reported grants from the NIH/NHLBI and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

SOURCE: Tshilolo L et al. ASH 2018, Abstract 3.

SAN DIEGO – Daily hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell disease is feasible, safe, and effective for children in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the results of a large open-label, phase 1-2, international trial.

Andrew Bowser/MDedge News

Hydroxyurea was associated with reduced rates of malaria and other infections, resulting in improved survival, according to Léon Tshilolo, MD, PhD, of Centre Hospitalier Monkole in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Based on that data, we believe that wider access to hydroxyurea for sickle cell anemia has the potential to save millions of lives in Africa,” Dr. Tshilolo said in a press conference at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Use of hydroxyurea has been limited in Africa because of cost, access issues, and challenges associated with laboratory monitoring, according to the researchers.

Moreover, most of the data on the efficacy of hydroxyurea come from studies conducted in the United States, Europe, and other high-income settings, said the study’s senior author Russell E. Ware, MD, PhD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Center.

“Now that there’s data in an African setting, I think this will go a long way to advancing [hydroxyurea therapy] and encouraging governments, organizations, and pharmaceutical companies to bring it in,” Dr. Ware said in an interview.

In the study by Dr. Ware, Dr. Tshilolo, and their colleagues, 606 children in four sub-Saharan African countries completed a 2-month pretreatment screening phase designed to capture baseline clinical and laboratory data. The children, who were aged 1-10 years, were started at 15-20 mg/kg of hydroxyurea for 6 months, followed by escalation to the maximum tolerated dose.

With a median of 2.5 years of treatment, treated children experienced less pain and anemia, fewer cases of malaria and other infections, and lower rates of transfusions and death versus rates observed in the pretreatment screening phase of the trial.

The rate of vasoocclusive pain during hydroxyurea treatment was 44.6 events per 100 patient-years, compared with 98.3 events per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (incidence rate ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.37-0.56), according to data simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Malaria infection rates were 22.9 events per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea treatment period versus 46.9 events in the pretreatment period (IRR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.37-0.66). Rates of nonmalaria infections were 90.0 events per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea treatment period versus 142.5 events per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (IRR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.53-0.72).

Dr. Tshilolo said investigators were “encouraged” by the reduced infection rates, particularly in light of previous concerns that hydroxyurea could suppress the immune system and put children at risk for malaria.

Death rates were 1.1 per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea group and 3.6 per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (IR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.10-0.88). Dose-limiting toxic events occurred in 5.1% of the children, which was below the protocol-specified threshold for safety, Dr. Tshilolo added.

Dr. Tshilolo reported grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, along with nonfinancial support from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Ware reported grants from the NIH/NHLBI and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

SOURCE: Tshilolo L et al. ASH 2018, Abstract 3.

SAN DIEGO – Daily hydroxyurea treatment for sickle cell disease is feasible, safe, and effective for children in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the results of a large open-label, phase 1-2, international trial.

Andrew Bowser/MDedge News

Hydroxyurea was associated with reduced rates of malaria and other infections, resulting in improved survival, according to Léon Tshilolo, MD, PhD, of Centre Hospitalier Monkole in Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

“Based on that data, we believe that wider access to hydroxyurea for sickle cell anemia has the potential to save millions of lives in Africa,” Dr. Tshilolo said in a press conference at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology.

Use of hydroxyurea has been limited in Africa because of cost, access issues, and challenges associated with laboratory monitoring, according to the researchers.

Moreover, most of the data on the efficacy of hydroxyurea come from studies conducted in the United States, Europe, and other high-income settings, said the study’s senior author Russell E. Ware, MD, PhD, of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Center.

“Now that there’s data in an African setting, I think this will go a long way to advancing [hydroxyurea therapy] and encouraging governments, organizations, and pharmaceutical companies to bring it in,” Dr. Ware said in an interview.

In the study by Dr. Ware, Dr. Tshilolo, and their colleagues, 606 children in four sub-Saharan African countries completed a 2-month pretreatment screening phase designed to capture baseline clinical and laboratory data. The children, who were aged 1-10 years, were started at 15-20 mg/kg of hydroxyurea for 6 months, followed by escalation to the maximum tolerated dose.

With a median of 2.5 years of treatment, treated children experienced less pain and anemia, fewer cases of malaria and other infections, and lower rates of transfusions and death versus rates observed in the pretreatment screening phase of the trial.

The rate of vasoocclusive pain during hydroxyurea treatment was 44.6 events per 100 patient-years, compared with 98.3 events per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (incidence rate ratio, 0.45; 95% confidence interval, 0.37-0.56), according to data simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Malaria infection rates were 22.9 events per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea treatment period versus 46.9 events in the pretreatment period (IRR, 0.49; 95% CI, 0.37-0.66). Rates of nonmalaria infections were 90.0 events per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea treatment period versus 142.5 events per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (IRR, 0.62; 95% CI, 0.53-0.72).

Dr. Tshilolo said investigators were “encouraged” by the reduced infection rates, particularly in light of previous concerns that hydroxyurea could suppress the immune system and put children at risk for malaria.

Death rates were 1.1 per 100 patient-years in the hydroxyurea group and 3.6 per 100 patient-years in the pretreatment period (IR, 0.30; 95% CI, 0.10-0.88). Dose-limiting toxic events occurred in 5.1% of the children, which was below the protocol-specified threshold for safety, Dr. Tshilolo added.

Dr. Tshilolo reported grants from the National Institutes of Health/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and Cincinnati Children’s Research Foundation, along with nonfinancial support from Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr. Ware reported grants from the NIH/NHLBI and Bristol-Myers Squibb.

SOURCE: Tshilolo L et al. ASH 2018, Abstract 3.

SAN FRANCISCO – Using normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) to preserve steatotic livers may result in more successful transplantation of these organs, especially when used concomitantly with lipid apheresis filtration and defatting agents, results from a small trial showed.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“This is important in the context of liver transplantation, because fatty livers do very badly when their time is blunted,” study coauthor Carlo Ceresa, MBChB, MRCS, said during a press briefing at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “They’re susceptible to ischemia reperfusion injury, and as a result, a large number are discarded. In the U.S., it’s estimated that around 6,000 steatotic livers are discarded each year. In the U.K., the picture is very similar. Because up to 20% of patients die on the waiting list for liver transplant, we need to try to identify methods to use more marginal organs. Unfortunately, with the obesity epidemic and obesity being a risk factor for NAFLD [nonalcoholic fatty liver disease], we find more fatty livers in the donor pool, and we aren’t able to use them. Identifying methods to salvage these livers for transplantation [is] of great importance.”

NMP maintains the liver in a fully functioning state ex situ and provides oxygen and nutrition at 37° C, said Dr. Ceresa, who is a clinical research fellow with the Medical Research Council and a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, England. In an effort to evaluate the impact of NMP and defatting adjuncts on human steatotic livers, he and his colleagues perfused 18 discarded human steatotic livers on a normothermic, blood-based circuit for 48 hours. Of these, six were perfused by normothermic machine perfusion alone (group 1), while six were perfused by NMP plus apheresis filtration, which removes lipoproteins (group 2). “The hypothesis here was that we could mechanically remove the fat that the liver releases,” he said. The remaining six livers were perfused with NMP, lipid apheresis filtration, and defatting agents including L-carnitine and forskolin (group 3).

The livers in group 1 “did pretty badly,” Dr. Ceresa said. “Their function wasn’t great and within 48 hours deteriorated, and there was a slight increase in liver fat. That’s probably attributable to de novo lipogenesis.” However, the livers in groups 2 and 3 demonstrated a significant reduction in circulating triglycerides and in perfusate total cholesterol by 48 hours, compared with those in group 1. The researchers also observed an increase in median fatty acid oxidation as measured by 3-hydroxybutyrate among the livers in group 3, compared with those in groups 1 and 2. In addition, the livers in group 3 were the only ones to show a mean reduction in tissue triglyceride level.

Dr. Ceresa described the findings as “exciting, because we have a captive organ we can manipulate, which could then result in a successful transplantation,” he said. “You also get to test drive and get an objective assessment of the organ’s function before you transplant it, so the result may be more predictable. It gives us a very useful model to study NAFLD.”

The next step, he said, is to plan a clinical trial to determine if clinical outcomes can be improved through these ex situ interventions on steatotic livers.

Dr. Ceresa reported having no financial disclosures.
 

[email protected]

Source: Hepatology 2018;68[S1], Abstract 3.

SAN FRANCISCO – Using normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) to preserve steatotic livers may result in more successful transplantation of these organs, especially when used concomitantly with lipid apheresis filtration and defatting agents, results from a small trial showed.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“This is important in the context of liver transplantation, because fatty livers do very badly when their time is blunted,” study coauthor Carlo Ceresa, MBChB, MRCS, said during a press briefing at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “They’re susceptible to ischemia reperfusion injury, and as a result, a large number are discarded. In the U.S., it’s estimated that around 6,000 steatotic livers are discarded each year. In the U.K., the picture is very similar. Because up to 20% of patients die on the waiting list for liver transplant, we need to try to identify methods to use more marginal organs. Unfortunately, with the obesity epidemic and obesity being a risk factor for NAFLD [nonalcoholic fatty liver disease], we find more fatty livers in the donor pool, and we aren’t able to use them. Identifying methods to salvage these livers for transplantation [is] of great importance.”

NMP maintains the liver in a fully functioning state ex situ and provides oxygen and nutrition at 37° C, said Dr. Ceresa, who is a clinical research fellow with the Medical Research Council and a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, England. In an effort to evaluate the impact of NMP and defatting adjuncts on human steatotic livers, he and his colleagues perfused 18 discarded human steatotic livers on a normothermic, blood-based circuit for 48 hours. Of these, six were perfused by normothermic machine perfusion alone (group 1), while six were perfused by NMP plus apheresis filtration, which removes lipoproteins (group 2). “The hypothesis here was that we could mechanically remove the fat that the liver releases,” he said. The remaining six livers were perfused with NMP, lipid apheresis filtration, and defatting agents including L-carnitine and forskolin (group 3).

The livers in group 1 “did pretty badly,” Dr. Ceresa said. “Their function wasn’t great and within 48 hours deteriorated, and there was a slight increase in liver fat. That’s probably attributable to de novo lipogenesis.” However, the livers in groups 2 and 3 demonstrated a significant reduction in circulating triglycerides and in perfusate total cholesterol by 48 hours, compared with those in group 1. The researchers also observed an increase in median fatty acid oxidation as measured by 3-hydroxybutyrate among the livers in group 3, compared with those in groups 1 and 2. In addition, the livers in group 3 were the only ones to show a mean reduction in tissue triglyceride level.

Dr. Ceresa described the findings as “exciting, because we have a captive organ we can manipulate, which could then result in a successful transplantation,” he said. “You also get to test drive and get an objective assessment of the organ’s function before you transplant it, so the result may be more predictable. It gives us a very useful model to study NAFLD.”

The next step, he said, is to plan a clinical trial to determine if clinical outcomes can be improved through these ex situ interventions on steatotic livers.

Dr. Ceresa reported having no financial disclosures.
 

[email protected]

Source: Hepatology 2018;68[S1], Abstract 3.

SAN FRANCISCO – Using normothermic machine perfusion (NMP) to preserve steatotic livers may result in more successful transplantation of these organs, especially when used concomitantly with lipid apheresis filtration and defatting agents, results from a small trial showed.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“This is important in the context of liver transplantation, because fatty livers do very badly when their time is blunted,” study coauthor Carlo Ceresa, MBChB, MRCS, said during a press briefing at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “They’re susceptible to ischemia reperfusion injury, and as a result, a large number are discarded. In the U.S., it’s estimated that around 6,000 steatotic livers are discarded each year. In the U.K., the picture is very similar. Because up to 20% of patients die on the waiting list for liver transplant, we need to try to identify methods to use more marginal organs. Unfortunately, with the obesity epidemic and obesity being a risk factor for NAFLD [nonalcoholic fatty liver disease], we find more fatty livers in the donor pool, and we aren’t able to use them. Identifying methods to salvage these livers for transplantation [is] of great importance.”

NMP maintains the liver in a fully functioning state ex situ and provides oxygen and nutrition at 37° C, said Dr. Ceresa, who is a clinical research fellow with the Medical Research Council and a PhD candidate at the University of Oxford, England. In an effort to evaluate the impact of NMP and defatting adjuncts on human steatotic livers, he and his colleagues perfused 18 discarded human steatotic livers on a normothermic, blood-based circuit for 48 hours. Of these, six were perfused by normothermic machine perfusion alone (group 1), while six were perfused by NMP plus apheresis filtration, which removes lipoproteins (group 2). “The hypothesis here was that we could mechanically remove the fat that the liver releases,” he said. The remaining six livers were perfused with NMP, lipid apheresis filtration, and defatting agents including L-carnitine and forskolin (group 3).

The livers in group 1 “did pretty badly,” Dr. Ceresa said. “Their function wasn’t great and within 48 hours deteriorated, and there was a slight increase in liver fat. That’s probably attributable to de novo lipogenesis.” However, the livers in groups 2 and 3 demonstrated a significant reduction in circulating triglycerides and in perfusate total cholesterol by 48 hours, compared with those in group 1. The researchers also observed an increase in median fatty acid oxidation as measured by 3-hydroxybutyrate among the livers in group 3, compared with those in groups 1 and 2. In addition, the livers in group 3 were the only ones to show a mean reduction in tissue triglyceride level.

Dr. Ceresa described the findings as “exciting, because we have a captive organ we can manipulate, which could then result in a successful transplantation,” he said. “You also get to test drive and get an objective assessment of the organ’s function before you transplant it, so the result may be more predictable. It gives us a very useful model to study NAFLD.”

The next step, he said, is to plan a clinical trial to determine if clinical outcomes can be improved through these ex situ interventions on steatotic livers.

Dr. Ceresa reported having no financial disclosures.
 

[email protected]

Source: Hepatology 2018;68[S1], Abstract 3.

SAN FRANCISCO – More than a quarter of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) cases also involve skin reactions, most often drug rash with eosinophilia and system symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. These dual cases of DILI and drug-induced skin injury (DISI) underscore the need for hepatologists to pay attention to dermatologic conditions and emphasize the need for the two specialties to work together.

The findings suggest that DISI/DILI comorbidity is not uncommon, and may hint at underlying mechanisms that could be used to tailor treatment, according to Harshad Devarbhavi, MD, who presented the study at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “My message was that people should work more and see if there’s any type of genotype or HLA [human leukocyte antigen] that produces this reaction. It’s a multisystem disease. It doesn’t belong to dermatologists, it’s a domain that also belongs to hepatologists,” said Dr. Devarbhavi, who is a hepatology fellow at St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore, India.

DISI is more common than DILI, and may or may not be caused by an immune response. The two conditions were previously known to co-occur, but it is rarely reported because dermatologists and hepatologists report findings in different journals.

The researchers defined DILI as a fivefold or greater increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT); a threefold or greater increase with symptoms, including cutaneous reactions; any elevation of AST, ALT, or alkaline phosphatase (ALP) accompanying a bilirubin increase of 2 mg/dL or more; or a twofold or higher increase in ALP combined with a cutaneous reaction.

They analyzed 921 DILI patients from a single registry in India, who were seen between 1997 and April 2018. All patients with skin reactions were seen by dermatologists and competing causes were excluded. A total of 28% of patients with DILI also had DISI, 13% of whom were also HIV positive; 56% developed jaundice. The mean age of patients with DILI/DISI was 35 years, compared with 42 years in DILI only patients (P = .001) and the mean duration of drug therapy was 42 days, compared with 89 days (P = .002). Twelve percent of DILI/DISI patients died, which was lower than the 17% mortality in those with DILI alone.

Of the DILI/DISI patients, 59% experienced DRESS, and 19% had Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN). Six percent of patients with DRESS died, as did 22% of those with SJS/TEN. Mortality was 16% among those with other skin manifestations. Eighteen percent of those with jaundice died, compared with 3% of those without jaundice.

Thirty patients with DILI/DISI died; 37% (11) of them had SJS/TEN, compared with 17% of survivors (P = .01). DRESS was more common in survivors (62% vs. 33%; P = .02).

Of DILI/DISI and SJS/TEN cases, 75% were associated with four drug classes: antiepileptic drugs, dapsone, antiretroviral therapies, and leflunomide.

“The liver is the biggest internal organ in the body, and skin is the largest external organ, so there is some correlation between the two, but people haven’t looked at it. People should come together and see why some drugs produce both these injuries. I think there is some mechanistic information in these drugs,” said Dr. Devarbhavi.

Source: Hepatology 2018 Oct 1;68[S1], Abstract 37.
 

SAN FRANCISCO – More than a quarter of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) cases also involve skin reactions, most often drug rash with eosinophilia and system symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. These dual cases of DILI and drug-induced skin injury (DISI) underscore the need for hepatologists to pay attention to dermatologic conditions and emphasize the need for the two specialties to work together.

The findings suggest that DISI/DILI comorbidity is not uncommon, and may hint at underlying mechanisms that could be used to tailor treatment, according to Harshad Devarbhavi, MD, who presented the study at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “My message was that people should work more and see if there’s any type of genotype or HLA [human leukocyte antigen] that produces this reaction. It’s a multisystem disease. It doesn’t belong to dermatologists, it’s a domain that also belongs to hepatologists,” said Dr. Devarbhavi, who is a hepatology fellow at St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore, India.

DISI is more common than DILI, and may or may not be caused by an immune response. The two conditions were previously known to co-occur, but it is rarely reported because dermatologists and hepatologists report findings in different journals.

The researchers defined DILI as a fivefold or greater increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT); a threefold or greater increase with symptoms, including cutaneous reactions; any elevation of AST, ALT, or alkaline phosphatase (ALP) accompanying a bilirubin increase of 2 mg/dL or more; or a twofold or higher increase in ALP combined with a cutaneous reaction.

They analyzed 921 DILI patients from a single registry in India, who were seen between 1997 and April 2018. All patients with skin reactions were seen by dermatologists and competing causes were excluded. A total of 28% of patients with DILI also had DISI, 13% of whom were also HIV positive; 56% developed jaundice. The mean age of patients with DILI/DISI was 35 years, compared with 42 years in DILI only patients (P = .001) and the mean duration of drug therapy was 42 days, compared with 89 days (P = .002). Twelve percent of DILI/DISI patients died, which was lower than the 17% mortality in those with DILI alone.

Of the DILI/DISI patients, 59% experienced DRESS, and 19% had Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN). Six percent of patients with DRESS died, as did 22% of those with SJS/TEN. Mortality was 16% among those with other skin manifestations. Eighteen percent of those with jaundice died, compared with 3% of those without jaundice.

Thirty patients with DILI/DISI died; 37% (11) of them had SJS/TEN, compared with 17% of survivors (P = .01). DRESS was more common in survivors (62% vs. 33%; P = .02).

Of DILI/DISI and SJS/TEN cases, 75% were associated with four drug classes: antiepileptic drugs, dapsone, antiretroviral therapies, and leflunomide.

“The liver is the biggest internal organ in the body, and skin is the largest external organ, so there is some correlation between the two, but people haven’t looked at it. People should come together and see why some drugs produce both these injuries. I think there is some mechanistic information in these drugs,” said Dr. Devarbhavi.

Source: Hepatology 2018 Oct 1;68[S1], Abstract 37.
 

SAN FRANCISCO – More than a quarter of drug-induced liver injury (DILI) cases also involve skin reactions, most often drug rash with eosinophilia and system symptoms (DRESS) syndrome. These dual cases of DILI and drug-induced skin injury (DISI) underscore the need for hepatologists to pay attention to dermatologic conditions and emphasize the need for the two specialties to work together.

The findings suggest that DISI/DILI comorbidity is not uncommon, and may hint at underlying mechanisms that could be used to tailor treatment, according to Harshad Devarbhavi, MD, who presented the study at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “My message was that people should work more and see if there’s any type of genotype or HLA [human leukocyte antigen] that produces this reaction. It’s a multisystem disease. It doesn’t belong to dermatologists, it’s a domain that also belongs to hepatologists,” said Dr. Devarbhavi, who is a hepatology fellow at St. John’s Medical College in Bangalore, India.

DISI is more common than DILI, and may or may not be caused by an immune response. The two conditions were previously known to co-occur, but it is rarely reported because dermatologists and hepatologists report findings in different journals.

The researchers defined DILI as a fivefold or greater increase in aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT); a threefold or greater increase with symptoms, including cutaneous reactions; any elevation of AST, ALT, or alkaline phosphatase (ALP) accompanying a bilirubin increase of 2 mg/dL or more; or a twofold or higher increase in ALP combined with a cutaneous reaction.

They analyzed 921 DILI patients from a single registry in India, who were seen between 1997 and April 2018. All patients with skin reactions were seen by dermatologists and competing causes were excluded. A total of 28% of patients with DILI also had DISI, 13% of whom were also HIV positive; 56% developed jaundice. The mean age of patients with DILI/DISI was 35 years, compared with 42 years in DILI only patients (P = .001) and the mean duration of drug therapy was 42 days, compared with 89 days (P = .002). Twelve percent of DILI/DISI patients died, which was lower than the 17% mortality in those with DILI alone.

Of the DILI/DISI patients, 59% experienced DRESS, and 19% had Stevens-Johnson syndrome/toxic epidermal necrolysis (SJS/TEN). Six percent of patients with DRESS died, as did 22% of those with SJS/TEN. Mortality was 16% among those with other skin manifestations. Eighteen percent of those with jaundice died, compared with 3% of those without jaundice.

Thirty patients with DILI/DISI died; 37% (11) of them had SJS/TEN, compared with 17% of survivors (P = .01). DRESS was more common in survivors (62% vs. 33%; P = .02).

Of DILI/DISI and SJS/TEN cases, 75% were associated with four drug classes: antiepileptic drugs, dapsone, antiretroviral therapies, and leflunomide.

“The liver is the biggest internal organ in the body, and skin is the largest external organ, so there is some correlation between the two, but people haven’t looked at it. People should come together and see why some drugs produce both these injuries. I think there is some mechanistic information in these drugs,” said Dr. Devarbhavi.

Source: Hepatology 2018 Oct 1;68[S1], Abstract 37.
 

SAN FRANCISCO – Despite implementation of the Model for End Stage Liver Disease score to prioritize liver transplantation, patients with Medicaid have significantly higher MELD scores at the time of liver transplantation wait-list registration and at the time of transplantation, results from a study of national data found.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“It can be difficult for patients with Medicaid to access liver transplantation,” lead study author Ann Robinson, MD, said in an interview at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “These patients may be living in underserved areas with limited resources.”

In an effort to evaluate insurance-specific disparities in severity of liver disease at the time of liver transplantation wait-list registration and at the time of liver transplantation, Dr. Robinson and her colleagues retrospectively evaluated the 2005-2016 United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplant Network liver transplant registry. They used multivariate linear regression models to make insurance-specific comparisons of MELD scores at wait-list registration and at liver transplantation, which included adjustments for age, sex, year, etiology of liver disease, body mass index, ascites, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and hepatic encephalopathy.

Dr. Robinson, who is a third-year internal medicine resident at Highland Hospital, Oakland, Calif., reported findings from 88,542 liver transplantation wait-list registrants with a mean age of 56 years. Their overall mean MELD score was 17.4 at wait-list registration and 22.6 at time of liver transplantation. The greatest mean MELD score at the time of wait-list registration was observed in Medicaid patients (18.4, compared with 17.2 among Veterans Affairs patients, 17 among Medicare patients, and 17 among privately/commercially insured patients; P less than .01). Meanwhile, the greatest mean MELD score at the time of liver transplantation was observed in Medicaid patients (23.5, compared with 21.4 among VA patients, 21.3 among privately/commercially insured patients, and 21.1 among Medicare patients; P less than .01).

Multivariate regression analysis revealed that, among patients without hepatocellular carcinoma, those with coverage other than private or commercial insurance had significantly higher MELD scores at wait-list registration (P less than .01). Specifically, the odds ratio was highest for VA patients (odds ratio, 2.59), followed by those covered by Medicaid (OR, 2.45), and Medicare (OR, 1.86). Similar trends were observed in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, with the highest biological MELD score at wait-list seen in those covered by Medicaid.

On regression analysis, while Medicaid patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had significantly higher biological MELD scores at time of liver transplantation, compared with those with private/commercial insurance (Medicaid OR, 2.06; P less than .05), no differences were observed among patients without hepatocellular carcinoma.

Dr. Robinson reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

Source: Hepatology 2018 Oct 1;68[S1], Abstract 464.

SAN FRANCISCO – Despite implementation of the Model for End Stage Liver Disease score to prioritize liver transplantation, patients with Medicaid have significantly higher MELD scores at the time of liver transplantation wait-list registration and at the time of transplantation, results from a study of national data found.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“It can be difficult for patients with Medicaid to access liver transplantation,” lead study author Ann Robinson, MD, said in an interview at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “These patients may be living in underserved areas with limited resources.”

In an effort to evaluate insurance-specific disparities in severity of liver disease at the time of liver transplantation wait-list registration and at the time of liver transplantation, Dr. Robinson and her colleagues retrospectively evaluated the 2005-2016 United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplant Network liver transplant registry. They used multivariate linear regression models to make insurance-specific comparisons of MELD scores at wait-list registration and at liver transplantation, which included adjustments for age, sex, year, etiology of liver disease, body mass index, ascites, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and hepatic encephalopathy.

Dr. Robinson, who is a third-year internal medicine resident at Highland Hospital, Oakland, Calif., reported findings from 88,542 liver transplantation wait-list registrants with a mean age of 56 years. Their overall mean MELD score was 17.4 at wait-list registration and 22.6 at time of liver transplantation. The greatest mean MELD score at the time of wait-list registration was observed in Medicaid patients (18.4, compared with 17.2 among Veterans Affairs patients, 17 among Medicare patients, and 17 among privately/commercially insured patients; P less than .01). Meanwhile, the greatest mean MELD score at the time of liver transplantation was observed in Medicaid patients (23.5, compared with 21.4 among VA patients, 21.3 among privately/commercially insured patients, and 21.1 among Medicare patients; P less than .01).

Multivariate regression analysis revealed that, among patients without hepatocellular carcinoma, those with coverage other than private or commercial insurance had significantly higher MELD scores at wait-list registration (P less than .01). Specifically, the odds ratio was highest for VA patients (odds ratio, 2.59), followed by those covered by Medicaid (OR, 2.45), and Medicare (OR, 1.86). Similar trends were observed in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, with the highest biological MELD score at wait-list seen in those covered by Medicaid.

On regression analysis, while Medicaid patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had significantly higher biological MELD scores at time of liver transplantation, compared with those with private/commercial insurance (Medicaid OR, 2.06; P less than .05), no differences were observed among patients without hepatocellular carcinoma.

Dr. Robinson reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

Source: Hepatology 2018 Oct 1;68[S1], Abstract 464.

SAN FRANCISCO – Despite implementation of the Model for End Stage Liver Disease score to prioritize liver transplantation, patients with Medicaid have significantly higher MELD scores at the time of liver transplantation wait-list registration and at the time of transplantation, results from a study of national data found.

Doug Brunk/MDedge News

“It can be difficult for patients with Medicaid to access liver transplantation,” lead study author Ann Robinson, MD, said in an interview at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. “These patients may be living in underserved areas with limited resources.”

In an effort to evaluate insurance-specific disparities in severity of liver disease at the time of liver transplantation wait-list registration and at the time of liver transplantation, Dr. Robinson and her colleagues retrospectively evaluated the 2005-2016 United Network for Organ Sharing/Organ Procurement and Transplant Network liver transplant registry. They used multivariate linear regression models to make insurance-specific comparisons of MELD scores at wait-list registration and at liver transplantation, which included adjustments for age, sex, year, etiology of liver disease, body mass index, ascites, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and hepatic encephalopathy.

Dr. Robinson, who is a third-year internal medicine resident at Highland Hospital, Oakland, Calif., reported findings from 88,542 liver transplantation wait-list registrants with a mean age of 56 years. Their overall mean MELD score was 17.4 at wait-list registration and 22.6 at time of liver transplantation. The greatest mean MELD score at the time of wait-list registration was observed in Medicaid patients (18.4, compared with 17.2 among Veterans Affairs patients, 17 among Medicare patients, and 17 among privately/commercially insured patients; P less than .01). Meanwhile, the greatest mean MELD score at the time of liver transplantation was observed in Medicaid patients (23.5, compared with 21.4 among VA patients, 21.3 among privately/commercially insured patients, and 21.1 among Medicare patients; P less than .01).

Multivariate regression analysis revealed that, among patients without hepatocellular carcinoma, those with coverage other than private or commercial insurance had significantly higher MELD scores at wait-list registration (P less than .01). Specifically, the odds ratio was highest for VA patients (odds ratio, 2.59), followed by those covered by Medicaid (OR, 2.45), and Medicare (OR, 1.86). Similar trends were observed in hepatocellular carcinoma patients, with the highest biological MELD score at wait-list seen in those covered by Medicaid.

On regression analysis, while Medicaid patients with hepatocellular carcinoma had significantly higher biological MELD scores at time of liver transplantation, compared with those with private/commercial insurance (Medicaid OR, 2.06; P less than .05), no differences were observed among patients without hepatocellular carcinoma.

Dr. Robinson reported having no financial disclosures.

[email protected]

Source: Hepatology 2018 Oct 1;68[S1], Abstract 464.

SAN FRANCISCO – Most years, when it comes to research to treat hepatitis viral infections, hepatitis C has been front and center at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. But things have changed in the past couple of years, with hepatitis C curative treatment maturing and altering the therapeutic landscape.

“Hepatitis C has been where all the action is, but that’s clearly changed in the last few years,” said Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, who summed up the hepatitis B findings during a wrap-up session on the final day of the conference. Dr. Feld is a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Liver Clinic and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

An analysis (Abstract 212) of a mixed North American and Asian cohort of more than 10,000 untreated patients showed just a 1.3% annual clearance rate of surface antigen, with little guidance for risk stratification. “This leaves us really needing new therapies,” said Dr. Feld.

Fortunately, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle offers various opportunities for therapeutic intervention, including blocking entry, targeting assembly and export of the virus, targeting HBV RNA, and targeting the capsid protein and viral packaging.

One study (Abstract 16) examined a hepatitis B entry inhibitor’s effect on hepatitis D virus (HDV), which requires coinfection with HBV to replicate. A phase 2 clinical trial found that treatment with Myrcludex B alone or in combination with interferon led to a decline in HDV RNA, but the result was most pronounced in patients who received the combination therapy. The combination was also associated with a greater probability of surface antigen decline. “I think that’s really important, that we see this synergistic effect. This is really promising phase 2 data that raises the possibility of curative therapy for this troubling infection,” said Dr. Feld.

Another study (Abstract LB-25) looked at an RNA inhibitor that targets both integrated and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA)–derived HBV RNA. The drug was given to 11 HBV patients who were positive for HBeAg (hepatitis B e-antigen) and 13 HBV patients who were HBeAg negative. It had similar effects in reducing HBV surface antigens and other correlated antigens in both groups of patients, and no evidence of a dose-response relationship. “Seeing a similar effect is quite important and suggests that it’s targeting both cccDNA-derived and integrated HBV DNA, and although there were some mild injection reactions, it generally seemed to be safe and pretty well tolerated,” said Dr. Feld.

Further down the life cycle, capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) have the potential to counter HBV by two mechanisms; blocking encapsulation of pregenomic RNA, and degrading capsids, which could prevent the replenishment of cccDNA. The latter effect could be important for achieving a cure, according to Dr. Feld.

A novel CAM, JNJ-6379 (Abstract 74), was tested at three different doses, and was well tolerated at higher doses, but it had limited dose response at the higher dose with respect to HBV DNA suppression. However, it could be that the two CAM mechanisms may require different doses. “These two things are hard to tease apart, and hopefully, we’ll see more data to separate them in the future,” said Dr. Feld.

Another CAM, ABI-HO731 (Abstract 73), had a potent effect on HBV DNA and HBV RNA, showing that it blocks encapsulation of both pregenomic RNA related to reverse transcription and pregenomic RNAs within the capsid. Stopping the medication led to some HBV DNA rebound, though no alanine aminotransferase flares, which Dr. Feld found reassuring. One patient had baseline resistance but was nevertheless able to achieve some suppression on the drug.

Another therapeutic approach used a nucleic acid polymer to block subviral particle release (Abstract 393). The study treated immunosuppressed patients with the polymer alone or in combination with interferon or tenofovir disoproxil, and led to “striking reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen quantities during therapy,” said Dr. Feld. An alanine aminotransferase flair did occur, which may signify an immune response, and it will be important to determine if this is indeed the case, he said. After stopping therapy there was a gain of anti–hepatitis B antibodies, which suggests that functional clearance of surface antigen is occurring.

Researchers also are recruiting the immune system to combat HBV. The novel agent inarigivir is a retinoic acid-inducible gene-1 agonist, which has both a direct antiviral effect and an indirect effect via the intrahepatic innate immune response, which it accomplishes by activating the interferon signaling pathway. It also directly interferes with the interaction between pregenomic RNA and the HBV polymerase, preventing replication. In the ACHIEVE trial, the researchers noted greater reduction in HBV RNA and DNA at higher doses (Abstract 75). “This is certainly an interesting molecule and an interesting proof of concept that you can potentially target HBV using two different pathways, and we’ll be interested to see more data with this approach,” said Dr. Feld.

Dr. Feld wrapped up the discussion of novel therapies with an animal model study (Abstract 77) that suggests future strategies for a cure. In it, the researchers combined a therapeutic vaccine with a stabilized, liver-targeted small interfering RNA to suppress surface antigen. Animals that received only the vaccine saw little benefit, but the combined approach led to viral clearance. The treatment also restored the immune response. “It gives us an inkling that we may need to both reduce the antigen load and stimulate immunity,” said Dr. Feld.

Dr. Feld has consulted for AbbVie, Gilead, ContraVir, MedImmune, and Merck. He has received funding from AbbVie, Gilead, Merck, and Janssen.

SAN FRANCISCO – Most years, when it comes to research to treat hepatitis viral infections, hepatitis C has been front and center at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. But things have changed in the past couple of years, with hepatitis C curative treatment maturing and altering the therapeutic landscape.

“Hepatitis C has been where all the action is, but that’s clearly changed in the last few years,” said Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, who summed up the hepatitis B findings during a wrap-up session on the final day of the conference. Dr. Feld is a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Liver Clinic and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

An analysis (Abstract 212) of a mixed North American and Asian cohort of more than 10,000 untreated patients showed just a 1.3% annual clearance rate of surface antigen, with little guidance for risk stratification. “This leaves us really needing new therapies,” said Dr. Feld.

Fortunately, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle offers various opportunities for therapeutic intervention, including blocking entry, targeting assembly and export of the virus, targeting HBV RNA, and targeting the capsid protein and viral packaging.

One study (Abstract 16) examined a hepatitis B entry inhibitor’s effect on hepatitis D virus (HDV), which requires coinfection with HBV to replicate. A phase 2 clinical trial found that treatment with Myrcludex B alone or in combination with interferon led to a decline in HDV RNA, but the result was most pronounced in patients who received the combination therapy. The combination was also associated with a greater probability of surface antigen decline. “I think that’s really important, that we see this synergistic effect. This is really promising phase 2 data that raises the possibility of curative therapy for this troubling infection,” said Dr. Feld.

Another study (Abstract LB-25) looked at an RNA inhibitor that targets both integrated and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA)–derived HBV RNA. The drug was given to 11 HBV patients who were positive for HBeAg (hepatitis B e-antigen) and 13 HBV patients who were HBeAg negative. It had similar effects in reducing HBV surface antigens and other correlated antigens in both groups of patients, and no evidence of a dose-response relationship. “Seeing a similar effect is quite important and suggests that it’s targeting both cccDNA-derived and integrated HBV DNA, and although there were some mild injection reactions, it generally seemed to be safe and pretty well tolerated,” said Dr. Feld.

Further down the life cycle, capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) have the potential to counter HBV by two mechanisms; blocking encapsulation of pregenomic RNA, and degrading capsids, which could prevent the replenishment of cccDNA. The latter effect could be important for achieving a cure, according to Dr. Feld.

A novel CAM, JNJ-6379 (Abstract 74), was tested at three different doses, and was well tolerated at higher doses, but it had limited dose response at the higher dose with respect to HBV DNA suppression. However, it could be that the two CAM mechanisms may require different doses. “These two things are hard to tease apart, and hopefully, we’ll see more data to separate them in the future,” said Dr. Feld.

Another CAM, ABI-HO731 (Abstract 73), had a potent effect on HBV DNA and HBV RNA, showing that it blocks encapsulation of both pregenomic RNA related to reverse transcription and pregenomic RNAs within the capsid. Stopping the medication led to some HBV DNA rebound, though no alanine aminotransferase flares, which Dr. Feld found reassuring. One patient had baseline resistance but was nevertheless able to achieve some suppression on the drug.

Another therapeutic approach used a nucleic acid polymer to block subviral particle release (Abstract 393). The study treated immunosuppressed patients with the polymer alone or in combination with interferon or tenofovir disoproxil, and led to “striking reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen quantities during therapy,” said Dr. Feld. An alanine aminotransferase flair did occur, which may signify an immune response, and it will be important to determine if this is indeed the case, he said. After stopping therapy there was a gain of anti–hepatitis B antibodies, which suggests that functional clearance of surface antigen is occurring.

Researchers also are recruiting the immune system to combat HBV. The novel agent inarigivir is a retinoic acid-inducible gene-1 agonist, which has both a direct antiviral effect and an indirect effect via the intrahepatic innate immune response, which it accomplishes by activating the interferon signaling pathway. It also directly interferes with the interaction between pregenomic RNA and the HBV polymerase, preventing replication. In the ACHIEVE trial, the researchers noted greater reduction in HBV RNA and DNA at higher doses (Abstract 75). “This is certainly an interesting molecule and an interesting proof of concept that you can potentially target HBV using two different pathways, and we’ll be interested to see more data with this approach,” said Dr. Feld.

Dr. Feld wrapped up the discussion of novel therapies with an animal model study (Abstract 77) that suggests future strategies for a cure. In it, the researchers combined a therapeutic vaccine with a stabilized, liver-targeted small interfering RNA to suppress surface antigen. Animals that received only the vaccine saw little benefit, but the combined approach led to viral clearance. The treatment also restored the immune response. “It gives us an inkling that we may need to both reduce the antigen load and stimulate immunity,” said Dr. Feld.

Dr. Feld has consulted for AbbVie, Gilead, ContraVir, MedImmune, and Merck. He has received funding from AbbVie, Gilead, Merck, and Janssen.

SAN FRANCISCO – Most years, when it comes to research to treat hepatitis viral infections, hepatitis C has been front and center at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. But things have changed in the past couple of years, with hepatitis C curative treatment maturing and altering the therapeutic landscape.

“Hepatitis C has been where all the action is, but that’s clearly changed in the last few years,” said Jordan Feld, MD, MPH, who summed up the hepatitis B findings during a wrap-up session on the final day of the conference. Dr. Feld is a clinician-scientist at the Toronto Western Hospital Liver Clinic and the McLaughlin-Rotman Centre for Global Health.

An analysis (Abstract 212) of a mixed North American and Asian cohort of more than 10,000 untreated patients showed just a 1.3% annual clearance rate of surface antigen, with little guidance for risk stratification. “This leaves us really needing new therapies,” said Dr. Feld.

Fortunately, the hepatitis B virus (HBV) life cycle offers various opportunities for therapeutic intervention, including blocking entry, targeting assembly and export of the virus, targeting HBV RNA, and targeting the capsid protein and viral packaging.

One study (Abstract 16) examined a hepatitis B entry inhibitor’s effect on hepatitis D virus (HDV), which requires coinfection with HBV to replicate. A phase 2 clinical trial found that treatment with Myrcludex B alone or in combination with interferon led to a decline in HDV RNA, but the result was most pronounced in patients who received the combination therapy. The combination was also associated with a greater probability of surface antigen decline. “I think that’s really important, that we see this synergistic effect. This is really promising phase 2 data that raises the possibility of curative therapy for this troubling infection,” said Dr. Feld.

Another study (Abstract LB-25) looked at an RNA inhibitor that targets both integrated and covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA)–derived HBV RNA. The drug was given to 11 HBV patients who were positive for HBeAg (hepatitis B e-antigen) and 13 HBV patients who were HBeAg negative. It had similar effects in reducing HBV surface antigens and other correlated antigens in both groups of patients, and no evidence of a dose-response relationship. “Seeing a similar effect is quite important and suggests that it’s targeting both cccDNA-derived and integrated HBV DNA, and although there were some mild injection reactions, it generally seemed to be safe and pretty well tolerated,” said Dr. Feld.

Further down the life cycle, capsid assembly modulators (CAMs) have the potential to counter HBV by two mechanisms; blocking encapsulation of pregenomic RNA, and degrading capsids, which could prevent the replenishment of cccDNA. The latter effect could be important for achieving a cure, according to Dr. Feld.

A novel CAM, JNJ-6379 (Abstract 74), was tested at three different doses, and was well tolerated at higher doses, but it had limited dose response at the higher dose with respect to HBV DNA suppression. However, it could be that the two CAM mechanisms may require different doses. “These two things are hard to tease apart, and hopefully, we’ll see more data to separate them in the future,” said Dr. Feld.

Another CAM, ABI-HO731 (Abstract 73), had a potent effect on HBV DNA and HBV RNA, showing that it blocks encapsulation of both pregenomic RNA related to reverse transcription and pregenomic RNAs within the capsid. Stopping the medication led to some HBV DNA rebound, though no alanine aminotransferase flares, which Dr. Feld found reassuring. One patient had baseline resistance but was nevertheless able to achieve some suppression on the drug.

Another therapeutic approach used a nucleic acid polymer to block subviral particle release (Abstract 393). The study treated immunosuppressed patients with the polymer alone or in combination with interferon or tenofovir disoproxil, and led to “striking reductions in hepatitis B surface antigen quantities during therapy,” said Dr. Feld. An alanine aminotransferase flair did occur, which may signify an immune response, and it will be important to determine if this is indeed the case, he said. After stopping therapy there was a gain of anti–hepatitis B antibodies, which suggests that functional clearance of surface antigen is occurring.

Researchers also are recruiting the immune system to combat HBV. The novel agent inarigivir is a retinoic acid-inducible gene-1 agonist, which has both a direct antiviral effect and an indirect effect via the intrahepatic innate immune response, which it accomplishes by activating the interferon signaling pathway. It also directly interferes with the interaction between pregenomic RNA and the HBV polymerase, preventing replication. In the ACHIEVE trial, the researchers noted greater reduction in HBV RNA and DNA at higher doses (Abstract 75). “This is certainly an interesting molecule and an interesting proof of concept that you can potentially target HBV using two different pathways, and we’ll be interested to see more data with this approach,” said Dr. Feld.

Dr. Feld wrapped up the discussion of novel therapies with an animal model study (Abstract 77) that suggests future strategies for a cure. In it, the researchers combined a therapeutic vaccine with a stabilized, liver-targeted small interfering RNA to suppress surface antigen. Animals that received only the vaccine saw little benefit, but the combined approach led to viral clearance. The treatment also restored the immune response. “It gives us an inkling that we may need to both reduce the antigen load and stimulate immunity,” said Dr. Feld.

Dr. Feld has consulted for AbbVie, Gilead, ContraVir, MedImmune, and Merck. He has received funding from AbbVie, Gilead, Merck, and Janssen.

Routine clinical and laboratory markers predicted histologic response to obeticholic acid therapy among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), investigators reported in Gastroenterology.

In a secondary analysis of data from the FLINT trial, histologic response at treatment week 24 correlated significantly with baseline nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) greater than 5, baseline triglycerides 154 mg/dL or less, baseline international normalized ratio no greater than 1, baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level no greater than 49 U/L, and at least a 17-U/L decrease from baseline in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level.

A stepwise logistic regression model including these variables and receipt of obeticholic acid distinguished histologic responders from nonresponders with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.89; P less than .0001). These parameters “are readily available clinical and biochemical characteristics that are routinely available to clinicians and may be applied to daily practice,” wrote Rohit Loomba, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, with his associates. They may show “that the patients most likely to achieve histologic response are those with higher disease activity, but still with largely conserved liver function, allowing for potential healing or improvement.”

NASH is expected to become the leading reason for liver transplantation in the next few decades. Several treatments can induce histologic hepatic improvement, but none are approved for NASH. Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva) is a selective agonist of the farsenoid X receptor ligand and is indicated for treating primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

In the 72-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind FLINT trial, noncirrhotic adults with biopsy-confirmed NASH received once-daily obeticholic acid (25 mg) or placebo. Blinded pathologists interpreted biopsies. The primary endpoint (improvement in liver histology) was met in the interim analysis, so the researchers stopped collecting final liver biopsies.

The secondary analysis included all patients with baseline and final biopsies, including 73 histologic responders and 127 nonresponders. “[The] trends for each of the selected predictors was the same when comparing histologic responders to nonresponders, regardless of treatment group (obeticholic acid versus placebo),” the researchers wrote. The predictors are biologically feasible, the researchers contended – for example, high baseline NAS would be more susceptible to significant improvement, while lower baseline triglyceride levels might reflect a liver that “is less burdened by triglyceride secretion” and, therefore, might have greater capacity to heal. Both AST and ALT “are metrics of liver injury,” and lower baseline AST, in combination with greater reduction in ALT at week 24, probably reflected “AST and ALT levels that are closer to normal,” they added.

Nonetheless, the researchers acknowledged several possible sources of bias. Trial participants were recruited from tertiary care settings and had complete biopsy data, which might not reflect the overall NASH population. Overfitting also could have biased the model because the number of variables assessed approached the number of events being predicted. Furthermore, the model assessed no treatment other than obeticholic acid. “A more robust model could potentially be developed if multiple pharmacological interventions could be considered simultaneously,” the researchers noted. The ongoing phase 3 REGENERATE trial aims to confirm the benefit of obeticholic acid in patients with NASH, they added. Topline results are expected in October 2022.

The FLINT trial was funded by Intercept Pharmaceuticals and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Loomba cochaired the FLINT trial protocol writing committee, is on the steering committee of the ongoing REGENERATE trial, and has received research funding from Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which developed and markets obeticholic acid. Several other coinvestigators reported ties to Intercept and to other pharmaceutical companies.

SOURCE: Loomba R et al. Gastroenterology. 2018 Sep 14. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.09.021.

Routine clinical and laboratory markers predicted histologic response to obeticholic acid therapy among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), investigators reported in Gastroenterology.

In a secondary analysis of data from the FLINT trial, histologic response at treatment week 24 correlated significantly with baseline nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) greater than 5, baseline triglycerides 154 mg/dL or less, baseline international normalized ratio no greater than 1, baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level no greater than 49 U/L, and at least a 17-U/L decrease from baseline in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level.

A stepwise logistic regression model including these variables and receipt of obeticholic acid distinguished histologic responders from nonresponders with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.89; P less than .0001). These parameters “are readily available clinical and biochemical characteristics that are routinely available to clinicians and may be applied to daily practice,” wrote Rohit Loomba, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, with his associates. They may show “that the patients most likely to achieve histologic response are those with higher disease activity, but still with largely conserved liver function, allowing for potential healing or improvement.”

NASH is expected to become the leading reason for liver transplantation in the next few decades. Several treatments can induce histologic hepatic improvement, but none are approved for NASH. Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva) is a selective agonist of the farsenoid X receptor ligand and is indicated for treating primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

In the 72-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind FLINT trial, noncirrhotic adults with biopsy-confirmed NASH received once-daily obeticholic acid (25 mg) or placebo. Blinded pathologists interpreted biopsies. The primary endpoint (improvement in liver histology) was met in the interim analysis, so the researchers stopped collecting final liver biopsies.

The secondary analysis included all patients with baseline and final biopsies, including 73 histologic responders and 127 nonresponders. “[The] trends for each of the selected predictors was the same when comparing histologic responders to nonresponders, regardless of treatment group (obeticholic acid versus placebo),” the researchers wrote. The predictors are biologically feasible, the researchers contended – for example, high baseline NAS would be more susceptible to significant improvement, while lower baseline triglyceride levels might reflect a liver that “is less burdened by triglyceride secretion” and, therefore, might have greater capacity to heal. Both AST and ALT “are metrics of liver injury,” and lower baseline AST, in combination with greater reduction in ALT at week 24, probably reflected “AST and ALT levels that are closer to normal,” they added.

Nonetheless, the researchers acknowledged several possible sources of bias. Trial participants were recruited from tertiary care settings and had complete biopsy data, which might not reflect the overall NASH population. Overfitting also could have biased the model because the number of variables assessed approached the number of events being predicted. Furthermore, the model assessed no treatment other than obeticholic acid. “A more robust model could potentially be developed if multiple pharmacological interventions could be considered simultaneously,” the researchers noted. The ongoing phase 3 REGENERATE trial aims to confirm the benefit of obeticholic acid in patients with NASH, they added. Topline results are expected in October 2022.

The FLINT trial was funded by Intercept Pharmaceuticals and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Loomba cochaired the FLINT trial protocol writing committee, is on the steering committee of the ongoing REGENERATE trial, and has received research funding from Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which developed and markets obeticholic acid. Several other coinvestigators reported ties to Intercept and to other pharmaceutical companies.

SOURCE: Loomba R et al. Gastroenterology. 2018 Sep 14. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.09.021.

Routine clinical and laboratory markers predicted histologic response to obeticholic acid therapy among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), investigators reported in Gastroenterology.

In a secondary analysis of data from the FLINT trial, histologic response at treatment week 24 correlated significantly with baseline nonalcoholic fatty liver disease activity score (NAS) greater than 5, baseline triglycerides 154 mg/dL or less, baseline international normalized ratio no greater than 1, baseline aspartate aminotransferase (AST) level no greater than 49 U/L, and at least a 17-U/L decrease from baseline in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level.

A stepwise logistic regression model including these variables and receipt of obeticholic acid distinguished histologic responders from nonresponders with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) of 0.83 (95% confidence interval, 0.77-0.89; P less than .0001). These parameters “are readily available clinical and biochemical characteristics that are routinely available to clinicians and may be applied to daily practice,” wrote Rohit Loomba, MD, of the University of California, San Diego, with his associates. They may show “that the patients most likely to achieve histologic response are those with higher disease activity, but still with largely conserved liver function, allowing for potential healing or improvement.”

NASH is expected to become the leading reason for liver transplantation in the next few decades. Several treatments can induce histologic hepatic improvement, but none are approved for NASH. Obeticholic acid (Ocaliva) is a selective agonist of the farsenoid X receptor ligand and is indicated for treating primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) in combination with ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA).

In the 72-week, multicenter, randomized, double-blind FLINT trial, noncirrhotic adults with biopsy-confirmed NASH received once-daily obeticholic acid (25 mg) or placebo. Blinded pathologists interpreted biopsies. The primary endpoint (improvement in liver histology) was met in the interim analysis, so the researchers stopped collecting final liver biopsies.

The secondary analysis included all patients with baseline and final biopsies, including 73 histologic responders and 127 nonresponders. “[The] trends for each of the selected predictors was the same when comparing histologic responders to nonresponders, regardless of treatment group (obeticholic acid versus placebo),” the researchers wrote. The predictors are biologically feasible, the researchers contended – for example, high baseline NAS would be more susceptible to significant improvement, while lower baseline triglyceride levels might reflect a liver that “is less burdened by triglyceride secretion” and, therefore, might have greater capacity to heal. Both AST and ALT “are metrics of liver injury,” and lower baseline AST, in combination with greater reduction in ALT at week 24, probably reflected “AST and ALT levels that are closer to normal,” they added.

Nonetheless, the researchers acknowledged several possible sources of bias. Trial participants were recruited from tertiary care settings and had complete biopsy data, which might not reflect the overall NASH population. Overfitting also could have biased the model because the number of variables assessed approached the number of events being predicted. Furthermore, the model assessed no treatment other than obeticholic acid. “A more robust model could potentially be developed if multiple pharmacological interventions could be considered simultaneously,” the researchers noted. The ongoing phase 3 REGENERATE trial aims to confirm the benefit of obeticholic acid in patients with NASH, they added. Topline results are expected in October 2022.

The FLINT trial was funded by Intercept Pharmaceuticals and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Dr. Loomba cochaired the FLINT trial protocol writing committee, is on the steering committee of the ongoing REGENERATE trial, and has received research funding from Intercept Pharmaceuticals, which developed and markets obeticholic acid. Several other coinvestigators reported ties to Intercept and to other pharmaceutical companies.

SOURCE: Loomba R et al. Gastroenterology. 2018 Sep 14. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2018.09.021.