The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a combination therapy of deoxycytidine (dC) plus deoxythymidine (dT) is safe in patients with telomere biology disorders. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is the therapy safe with tolerable side effects in patients with telomere biology disorders? * Are problems with the bone marrow or blood or lungs changed after 6 months of dC+dT treatment in patients with telomere biology disorders? Participants will: * Take study drug by mouth three times daily for 24 weeks * Make approximately 2 visits to Boston Children's Hospital during the 24 weeks: once at the beginning of treatment and once at the end of treatment. * Go to a lab for a blood draw an additional 6 times during treatment. * Have 9 phone calls with a research nurse, including one 4 weeks after treatment ends. * Keep a diary to track doses of study drug that were taken or missed.
This is an investigator-initiated, single-arm, single-center phase 1 clinical trial investigating nucleoside therapy in patients telomere biology disorder (TBDs). TBDs are a group of rare, inherited conditions characterized by critically short telomeres which can limit cellular replication resulting in a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations. From a hematologic standpoint, patients with TBDs often present with bone marrow failure. Therapy options for bone marrow failure for patients with TBDs are limited to androgen therapy and hematopoietic cell transplantation, which are associated with significant challenges and toxicities. From a pulmonary standpoint, patients with TBDs can present with low oxygen levels due to hepatopulmonary syndrome or lung fibrosis, which requires organ transplantation. New therapeutic approaches are needed in patients with an underlying TBD. Recent studies emerging from multiple independent human genetic studies have established a critical role for deoxythymidine (dT) metabolism in human telomere maintenance and demonstrated that upregulation of nucleotide metabolism by dT supplementation in vitro led to telomere elongation. The goals of this trial are to (1) assess the safety and tolerability of enteral nucleoside therapy in patients with TBDs and (2) explore the clinical and biologic effects of enteral nucleoside therapy in patients with TBDs. A total of 36 pediatric and adult patients with a diagnosis of a TBD will be enrolled at Boston Children's Hospital. Patients will receive enteral nucleoside therapy for a total of 24 weeks. Drug diary reviews and safety and tolerability assessments will be conducted on a weekly basis during an initial dose-escalation phase (4 weeks) and then monthly until study treatment completion at week 24. Pharmacokinetic studies will be conducted on a subset of participants. Additionally, changes in lymphocyte telomere lengths, peripheral blood counts, bone marrow cellularity, clonal hematopoiesis, pulmonary function tests, and chest CT imaging may be explored pre- and post-treatment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
36
Oral administration, in combination with deoxythymidine
Oral administration, in combination with deoxycytidine
Boston Childrens Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
RECRUITINGIncidence of treatment-related diarrhea [Tolerability]
Proportion of study participants with grade 3 or higher treatment-related diarrhea refractory to dose adjustments
Time frame: 8 weeks from study drug initiation
Incidence of treatment-related adverse events [Safety]
Proportion of patients with grade 3 or higher treatment-related adverse events refractory to dose adjustments
Time frame: 8 weeks from study drug initiation
Change in hemoglobin
Change in hemoglobin (in grams per deciliter)
Time frame: From pre-treatment baseline to end of treatment
Change in platelet count
Change in platelet count (in thousands of cells per microliter)
Time frame: From pre-treatment baseline to end of treatment
Change in absolute neutrophil count
Change in absolute neutrophil count (in thousands of cells per microliter)
Time frame: From pre-treatment baseline to end of treatment
Maximal plasma concentration [Cmax] of dC
Maximal plasma concentration \[Cmax\] of dC will be obtained during pharmacokinetic profiling of dC at starting dose and maximum dose in some subjects
Time frame: 24 weeks
Maximal plasma concentration [Cmax] of dT
Maximal plasma concentration \[Cmax\] of dT will be obtained during pharmacokinetic profiling of dT at starting dose and maximum dose in some subjects
Time frame: 24 weeks
Plasma half-life [T1/2] of dC
Plasma half-life \[T1/2\] of dC will be obtained during pharmacokinetic profiling of dC at starting dose and maximum dose in some subjects
Time frame: 24 weeks
Plasma half-life [T1/2] of dT
Plasma half-life \[T1/2\] of dT will be obtained during pharmacokinetic profiling of dC at starting dose and maximum dose in some subjects
Time frame: 24 weeks
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