Reports from the Field
Therapy prevents platelet depletion in hep C patients
Nearly 25% of the estimated 4 million Americans with hepatitis C either cannot start or must discontinue treatment with the current standard of care due to low platelet levels. Now, researchers believe that these patients can safely begin or continue treatment at a full dosage and without interruption when they are treated with the platelet growth factor Interleukin-11, according to a small study presented at the recent American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases annual meeting in Dallas.
The study was conducted at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, DC. Researchers used the platelet growth factor in four patients with chronic hepatitis C to prevent low platelet levels, thereby allowing completion of full-dose therapy with Interferon and Ribavirin.
"In medicine, we are always looking for new ways to use existing therapies," notes Vinood Rustgi, MD, medical director of liver transplantation at Georgetown University Hospital and lead investigator of the study. "These preliminary findings show that Interleukin-11’s ability to avoid low platelet counts and prevent stable platelet counts from diving in chemotherapy patients may also enable more hepatitis C patients to start treatment and maintain it safely."
Of the four patients in the study, two received Interleukin-11 to correct therapy-induced low platelet levels. In the remaining two patients, Interleukin-11 was started before antiviral therapy to prevent further decreases in platelet counts. All study participants responded favorably to Interleukin-11 treatment and experienced improved platelet levels.
Interleukin-11 is currently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for patients undergoing myelosuppressive chemotherapy at high risk of severely low platelet levels. It is a platelet growth factor that stimulates the bone marrow to make normal platelets, helping to maintain platelet counts, which may minimize the possibility of having to change myelosuppressive drug dosing or timing.
In randomized studies, most adverse events associated with the drug were mild to moderate. The most common included peripheral edema, dyspnea, tachycardia, and conjunctival redness. These side effects were reversible after discontinuation of dosing.
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