Efficacy of rabbit antithymocyte globulin as first-line treatment of severe aplastic anemia: an Asian multicenter retrospective study

Chuncharunee S 1 , Wong R 2 , Rojnuckarin P 3 , Chang CS 4 , Chang KM 5 , Lu MY 6 Show all authors , Hwang WL 7 , Koh LP 8 , Chen TY 9 , Leung AY 10 , Norasetthada L 11 , Wang SC 4 , Chang MC 12 , Wu KH 13 , Issaragrisil S 14

Affiliations 

  • 1 Ramathibodi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 2 Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, Prince of Wales Hospital and Sir Y. K. Pao Centre for Cancer, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
  • 3 Chulalongkorn University and King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
  • 4 Changhua Christian Hospital, Changhua, Taiwan
  • 5 Hospital Ampang, Ampang Selangor, Malaysia
  • 6 National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 7 Taichung Veterans General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
  • 8 National University Hospital, Singapore, Singapore
  • 9 National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan
  • 10 Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, China
  • 11 Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital, Chiang Mai, Thailand
  • 12 Mackay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
  • 13 China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan
  • 14 Division of Hematology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Siriraj Hospital, Bangkok, 10700, Thailand. surapolsi@gmail.com
Int J Hematol, 2016 Oct;104(4):454-61.
PMID: 27376944 DOI: 10.1007/s12185-016-2053-8

Abstract

Due to the unavailability of horse antithymocyte globulin (ATG) in many markets worldwide, patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) are limited to the use of rabbit ATG. We aimed to analyze hematologic response and overall survival (OS) of Asian patients treated with rabbit ATG as first-line therapy of SAA. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 97 consecutive patients who received rabbit ATG as first-line treatment of SAA from 2006 to 2012 at centers in four Asian countries. The primary endpoint was 6- and 12-month overall response rates (ORR) for patients receiving rabbit ATG within the recommended dose range (2.5-3.75 mg/kg/day). Secondary endpoints included ORR in patients receiving any dose of rabbit ATG and 2-year OS. For patients who received rabbit ATG within the recommended dose range, 6- and 12-month ORRs were 17.4 and 63.6 %, respectively. For patients who received any dose of rabbit ATG, 6- and 12-month ORRs were 24.3 and 68.6 %, respectively. The 2-year OS rate was 86.3 %. Rabbit ATG is effective for treatment of SAA in Asian patients. The 12-month ORR and 2-year OS with rabbit ATG were comparable to historical results obtained with horse ATG.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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