Schiffer, Charles A.

Lenalidomide is approved for red blood cell (RBC) transfusion-dependent anemia due to low or intermediate-1 (int-1) risk myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs) associated with a chromosome 5q deletion with or without additional cytogenetic abnormalities. We report results of a multicenter, phase 2 trial evaluating lenalidomide therapy for transfusion-dependent patients with low- or int-1–risk MDS without deletion 5q. Eligible patients had 50 000/mm3 or more platelets and required 2 U or more RBCs within the previous 8 weeks; 214 patients received 10 mg oral lenalidomide daily or 10 mg on days 1 to 21 of a 28-day cycle. The most common grade 3/4 adverse events were neutropenia (30%) and thrombocytopenia (25%). Using an intention-to-treat analysis, 56 (26%) patients achieved transfusion independence (TI) after a median of 4.8 weeks of treatment with a median duration of TI of 41.0 weeks. In patients who achieved TI, the median rise in hemoglobin was 32 g/L (3.2 g/dL; range, 10-98 g/L [1.0-9.8 g/dL]) from baseline. A 50% or greater reduction in transfusion requirement occurred in 37 additional patients, yielding a 43% overall rate of hematologic improvement (TI response +‖≥ 50% reduction in transfusion requirement). Lenalidomide has clinically meaningful activity in transfusion-dependent patients with low- or int-1–risk MDS who lack the deletion 5q karyotypic abnormality. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as no. NCT00064974.