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International Journal of Hematology
Published in: International Journal of Hematology 3/2019

01-03-2019 | Aplastic Anemia | Original Article

Immunosuppressive therapy with rabbit antithymocyte globulin therapy for acquired aplastic anemia: a multi-institutional retrospective study in Japanese adult patients

Authors: Nana Sasaki, Kazuho Shimura, Mihoko Yoshida, Nobuhiko Uoshima, Miki Kiyota, Mayumi Hatsuse, Hitoji Uchiyama, Yoshiaki Chinen, Tsutomu Kobayashi, Mitsushige Nakao, Ryoichi Takahashi, Sonoko Nakano-Akamatsu, Hiroto Kaneko, Yutaka Kobayashi, Chihiro Shimazaki, Masafumi Taniwaki, Junya Kuroda, The Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group (KOTOSG) investigators

Published in: International Journal of Hematology | Issue 3/2019

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Abstract

We retrospectively analyzed efficacy and safety of therapy with rabbit antithymocyte globulin (rATG) in combination with cyclosporine A (CsA) in 30 Japanese adult patients with acquired aplastic anemia (AA) in the Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group. The median observation period was 31 months and the median age of the patients was 54 years. The objective response rates (ORRs) to rATG plus CsA increased over time until 18 months after the start of treatment; the rate of achievement of better than partial response at 18 months was 66.7%. The 2-year overall survival (OS) rate was 79% in all patients. In eight patients aged ≥ 75 years old, the ORR was 62.5% and the 2-year OS rate of 50% was not significantly inferior to that in patients aged ≤ 74 years old. The overall mortality rate was 16.7% in our cohort, while the mortality rate in patients aged ≥ 75 years old was 37.5%, which was higher than that in patients aged ≤ 74 years old (9.1%), although the difference was not statistically significant. Collectively, rATG combined with CsA is an effective and feasible treatment for AA, while patients should be appropriately selected.
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Metadata
Title
Immunosuppressive therapy with rabbit antithymocyte globulin therapy for acquired aplastic anemia: a multi-institutional retrospective study in Japanese adult patients
Authors
Nana Sasaki
Kazuho Shimura
Mihoko Yoshida
Nobuhiko Uoshima
Miki Kiyota
Mayumi Hatsuse
Hitoji Uchiyama
Yoshiaki Chinen
Tsutomu Kobayashi
Mitsushige Nakao
Ryoichi Takahashi
Sonoko Nakano-Akamatsu
Hiroto Kaneko
Yutaka Kobayashi
Chihiro Shimazaki
Masafumi Taniwaki
Junya Kuroda
The Kyoto Clinical Hematology Study Group (KOTOSG) investigators
Publication date
01-03-2019
Publisher
Springer Japan
Published in
International Journal of Hematology / Issue 3/2019
Print ISSN: 0925-5710
Electronic ISSN: 1865-3774
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12185-018-02583-w

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