This study will evaluate patients \> 18 years of age with transfusion-dependent gastrointestinal bleeding due to documented gastrointestinal vascular ectasia with or without concurrent hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT). This study will focus on documented bleeding sites in the small bowel, including the duodenum, jejunum and ileum. Eligible patients will have endoscopically-documented sites of vascular ectasia and will have required at least 4 units of blood transfusion or episodes of intravenous iron administration over the preceding four months.
This is a single-arm, open-label study that will investigate the efficacy and safety profile of pomalidomide in patients with genetically-documented Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (defined by characteristic mutations in Eng, Alk-1 or Smad-4) or idiopathic vascular ectasia with no documented mutations, leading to refractory bleeding of the small bowel. This study will be limited to patients with documented bleeding from the small bowel, including the duodenum, jejunum or ileum. Eligible patients will be dependent on transfusion or intravenous iron therapy (requiring at least 4 units of blood transfusion or 4 iron infusions over the preceding 4 months) and will have endoscopically-confirmed areas of vascular ecstasia. Therapy for all eligible patients will be initiated with a 1 mg daily dose of pomalidomide. The principal investigator will determine whether intrapatient dose escalation is indicated based on the response of the patient's bleeding during the first 30 days of therapy. If dose escalation is indicated, pomalidomide will be increased at the investigator's discretion to a maximal dose of 5 mg/day. Cessation of GI bleeding will be defined as maintenance of stable hemoglobin without blood transfusion or intravenous iron therapy over a 4 week period. Once GI bleeding has ceased, patients will be maintained at a stable pomalidomide dose for an additional 4 months, and the dose then tapered by 1 mg per month, or until bleeding recurs. Patients will be followed for a total of six months post-therapy to determine whether the response is maintained.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
9
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Transfusion requirement measure
To compare the requirement for transfusion and intravenous iron administration in individual patients in the 4 month period before initiation of pomalidomide with that over a 4 month period following pomalidomide therapy.
Time frame: 8 months
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