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Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics May 2019Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) activity exhibits a monogenic codominant inheritance and catabolizes thiopurines. TPMT variant alleles are associated with low enzyme...
Thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) activity exhibits a monogenic codominant inheritance and catabolizes thiopurines. TPMT variant alleles are associated with low enzyme activity and pronounced pharmacologic effects of thiopurines. Loss-of-function alleles in the NUDT15 gene are common in Asians and Hispanics and reduce the degradation of active thiopurine nucleotide metabolites, also predisposing to myelosuppression. We provide recommendations for adjusting starting doses of azathioprine, mercaptopurine, and thioguanine based on TPMT and NUDT15 genotypes (updates on www.cpicpgx.org).
Topics: Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Azathioprine; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drug Dosage Calculations; Humans; Inactivation, Metabolic; Mercaptopurine; Methyltransferases; Pharmacogenetics; Pharmacogenomic Testing; Pyrophosphatases; Thioguanine
PubMed: 30447069
DOI: 10.1002/cpt.1304 -
Boletin Medico Del Hospital Infantil de... 2017In parallel to the human genome sequencing project, several technological platforms have been developed that let us gain insight into the genome structure of human... (Review)
Review
In parallel to the human genome sequencing project, several technological platforms have been developed that let us gain insight into the genome structure of human entities, as well as evaluate their usefulness in the clinical approach of the patient. Thus, in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), the most common pediatric malignancy, genomic tools promise to be useful to detect patients at high risk of relapse, either at diagnosis or during treatment (minimal residual disease), and they also increase the possibility to identify cases at risk of adverse reactions to chemotherapy. Therefore, the physician could offer patient-tailored therapeutic schemes. A clear example of the useful genomic tools is the identification of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the thiopurine methyl transferase (TPMT) gene, where the presence of two null alleles (homozygous or compound heterozygous) indicates the need to reduce the dose of mercaptopurine by up to 90% to avoid toxic effects which could lead to the death of the patient. In this review, we provide an overview of the genomic perspective of ALL, describing some strategies that contribute to the identification of biomarkers with potential clinical application.
Topics: Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Biomarkers, Tumor; Child; Genomics; Humans; Mercaptopurine; Methyltransferases; Neoplasm, Residual; Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Recurrence
PubMed: 29364809
DOI: 10.1016/j.bmhimx.2016.07.007 -
Pediatric Blood & Cancer Feb 2021This pilot study explored the feasibility and acceptability of implementing text-based assessments of oral chemotherapy adherence in adolescents and young adults (AYA)...
BACKGROUND
This pilot study explored the feasibility and acceptability of implementing text-based assessments of oral chemotherapy adherence in adolescents and young adults (AYA) with leukemia.
METHODS
AYA prescribed maintenance 6-mercaptopurine (6MP) received daily text message surveys and utilized an electronic pill bottle for 28 days. Text surveys assessed 6MP adherence and contextual associates (eg, mood). Feasibility was defined by recruitment/retention rates, survey completion rates, cost, and technical issues. After the 28-day period, AYA completed an acceptability survey. Secondary analyses compared text survey and electronic pill bottle adherence rates, and explored the daily associations between contextual factors and 6MP nonadherence.
RESULTS
Eighteen AYA enrolled (M age = 18, range 15-22) and completed study procedures (100% recruitment and retention rates). Adherence survey completion rates were high (M = 88.9%), the technology cost was $204.00, and there were few technical issues. AYA reported high satisfaction with the surveys and perceived them as a helpful medication reminder. While not significantly correlated, survey and electronic pill bottle adherence data converged on the majority of days (>90%). Exploratory analyses showed that AYA were more likely to miss a dose of 6MP on weekends (OR = 2.33, P = .048) and on days when their adherence motivation (OR = 0.28, P = .047) and negative affect (OR = 3.92, P = .02) worsened from their own typical functioning.
CONCLUSIONS
For AYA with leukemia, daily text-based surveys are a feasible and acceptable method for delivering medication adherence assessments, and may operate as a short-term intervention. To develop personalized mobile health interventions, findings also highlighted the need to study time-varying predictors of 6MP nonadherence.
Topics: Adolescent; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Female; Humans; Leukemia; Male; Medication Adherence; Mercaptopurine; Motivation; Pilot Projects; Reminder Systems; Surveys and Questionnaires; Text Messaging; Young Adult
PubMed: 33073479
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.28767 -
Journal of Crohn's & Colitis Jul 2023Scepticism about the efficacy of thiopurines for ulcerative colitis [UC] is rising. This study aimed to evaluate mercaptopurine treatment for UC. (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Scepticism about the efficacy of thiopurines for ulcerative colitis [UC] is rising. This study aimed to evaluate mercaptopurine treatment for UC.
METHODS
In this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, patients with active UC, despite treatment with 5-aminosalicylates [5-ASA], were randomized for therapeutic drug monitoring [TDM]-guided mercaptopurine treatment or placebo for 52 weeks. Corticosteroids were given in the first 8 weeks and 5-ASA was continued. Proactive metabolite-based mercaptopurine and placebo dose adjustments were applied from week 6 onwards by unblinded clinicians. The primary endpoint was corticosteroid-free clinical remission and endoscopic improvement [total Mayo score ≤2 points and no item >1] at week 52 in an intention-to-treat analysis.
RESULTS
Between December 2016 and April 2021, 70 patients were screened and 59 were randomized at six centres. In the mercaptopurine group, 16/29 [55.2%] patients completed the 52-week study, compared to 13/30 [43.3%] on placebo. The primary endpoint was achieved by 14/29 [48.3%] patients on mercaptopurine and 3/30 [10%] receiving placebo (Δ = 38.3%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 17.1-59.4, p = 0.002). Adverse events occurred more frequently with mercaptopurine [808.8 per 100 patient-years] compared to placebo [501.4 per 100 patient-years]. Five serious adverse events occurred, four on mercaptopurine and one on placebo. TDM-based dose adjustments were executed in 22/29 [75.9%] patients, leading to lower mercaptopurine doses at week 52 compared to baseline.
CONCLUSIONS
Optimized mercaptopurine treatment was superior to placebo in achieving clinical, endoscopic and histological outcomes at 1 year following corticosteroid induction treatment in UC patients. More adverse events occurred in the mercaptopurine group.
Topics: Humans; Colitis, Ulcerative; Mercaptopurine; Prospective Studies; Mesalamine; Remission Induction
PubMed: 36847130
DOI: 10.1093/ecco-jcc/jjad022 -
Cell Reports. Medicine Aug 2023Azathioprine (AZA) therapy failure, though not the primary cause, contributes to disease relapse and progression in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the role...
Azathioprine (AZA) therapy failure, though not the primary cause, contributes to disease relapse and progression in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, the role of gut microbiota in AZA therapy failure remains poorly understood. We found a high prevalence of Blautia wexlerae in patients with IBD with AZA therapy failure, associated with shorter disease flare survival time. Colonization of B. wexlerae increased inflammatory macrophages and compromised AZA's therapeutic efficacy in mice with intestinal colitis. B. wexlerae colonization reduced 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) bioavailability by enhancing selenium-dependent xanthine dehydrogenase (sd-XDH) activity. The enzyme sd-XDH converts 6-MP into its inactive metabolite, 6-thioxanthine (6-TX), thereby impairing its ability to inhibit inflammation in mice. Supplementation with Bacillus (B.) subtilis enriched in hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) effectively mitigated B. wexlerae-induced AZA treatment failure in mice with intestinal colitis. These findings emphasize the need for tailored management strategies based on B. wexlerae levels in patients with IBD.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Mercaptopurine; Azathioprine; Immunosuppressive Agents; Biological Availability; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Colitis; Bacteria
PubMed: 37586320
DOI: 10.1016/j.xcrm.2023.101153 -
JAMA Network Open Aug 2020Suboptimal adherence to oral mercaptopurine treatment in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) increases the risk of relapse. A frequently expressed barrier... (Randomized Controlled Trial)
Randomized Controlled Trial
Effect of a Daily Text Messaging and Directly Supervised Therapy Intervention on Oral Mercaptopurine Adherence in Children With Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Randomized Clinical Trial.
IMPORTANCE
Suboptimal adherence to oral mercaptopurine treatment in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) increases the risk of relapse. A frequently expressed barrier to adherence is forgetfulness, which is often overcome by parental vigilance.
OBJECTIVE
To determine whether a multicomponent intervention, compared with education alone, will result in a higher proportion of patients with ALL who have mercaptopurine adherence rates 95% or higher, for all study participants and among patients younger than 12 years and vs those aged 12 years and older.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS
The adherence intervention trial was an investigator-initiated, multi-institutional, parallel-group, unblinded, randomized clinical trial conducted between July 16, 2012, and August 8, 2018, at 59 Children's Oncology Group institutions in the US, enrolling patients with ALL diagnosed through age 21 years and receiving mercaptopurine for maintenance. The date of final follow-up was January 2, 2019. Data analysis was performed from February to October 2019.
INTERVENTIONS
Patients were randomized 1:1 to education alone or the intervention package, which consisted of education and personalized text message reminders daily to prompt directly supervised therapy. Four weeks of baseline adherence monitoring were followed with a 16-week intervention.
MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES
The primary end point was the proportion of patients with adherence rates 95% or higher over the duration of the intervention for all study participants, and for those younger than 12 years vs those aged 12 years and older.
RESULTS
There were 444 evaluable patients (median age, 8.1 years; interquartile range, 5.3-14.3 years), including 230 in the intervention group and 214 in the education group. Three hundred two patients (68.0%) were boys, 180 (40.5%) were non-Hispanic White, 170 (38.3%) were Hispanic, 43 (9.7%) were African American, and 51 (11.5%) were Asian or of mixed race/ethnicity. The proportion of patients with adherence rates 95% or higher did not differ between the intervention vs education groups (65% vs 59%; odds ratio, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.0-2.0; P = .08). Exploratory analyses showed that among patients aged 12 years and older, those in the intervention group had higher mean (SE) adherence rates than those in the education group (93.1% [1.1%] vs 90.0% [1.3%]; difference, 3.1%; 95% CI, 0.1%-6.0%; P = .04). In particular, among patients aged 12 years and older with baseline adherence less than 90%, those in the intervention group had higher mean (SE) adherence rates than those in the education group (83.4% [2.5%] vs 74.6% [3.4%]; difference, 8.8%; 95% CI, 2.2%-15.4%; P = .008). No safety concerns were identified.
CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE
Although this multicomponent intervention did not result in an increase in the proportion of patients with ALL who had mercaptopurine adherence rates 95% or higher, it did identify a high-risk subpopulation to target for future adherence intervention strategies: adolescents with low baseline adherence.
TRIAL REGISTRATION
ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01503632.
Topics: Adolescent; Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Child; Child, Preschool; Directly Observed Therapy; Female; Humans; Male; Medication Adherence; Mercaptopurine; Patient Education as Topic; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Text Messaging
PubMed: 32852553
DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.14205 -
Bosnian Journal of Basic Medical... Aug 2018The main role of therapy in Crohn's disease (CD) is to achieve long-term clinical remission, and to allow for normal growth and development of children. The... (Review)
Review
The main role of therapy in Crohn's disease (CD) is to achieve long-term clinical remission, and to allow for normal growth and development of children. The immunomodulatory drugs used for the maintenance of remission in CD include thiopurines (azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine) and methotrexate (MTX). Development of hepatosplenic T-cell lymphoma in some patients with inflammatory bowel disease, treated with thiopurines only or in combination with anti-tumor necrosis factor agents, resulted in a growing interest in the therapeutic application of MTX in children suffering from CD. This review summarizes the literature on the therapeutic role of MTX in children with CD. MTX is often administered as a second-line immunomodulator, and 1-year clinical remission was reported in 25-69% of children with CD after excluding for the use of thiopurines. Initial data on MTX effectiveness in mucosal healing, and as a first-line immunomodulator in pediatric patients with CD, are promising. A definite conclusion, however, may only be made on the basis of additional research with a larger number of subjects.
Topics: Adolescent; Azathioprine; Child; Crohn Disease; Drug Administration Schedule; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents; Mercaptopurine; Methotrexate; Patient Safety; Remission Induction; Treatment Outcome; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha
PubMed: 29338679
DOI: 10.17305/bjbms.2018.2792 -
Zhongguo Dang Dai Er Ke Za Zhi =... Sep 2017Mercaptopurine is a common chemotherapeutic drug and immunosuppressive agent and plays an important role in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and... (Review)
Review
Mercaptopurine is a common chemotherapeutic drug and immunosuppressive agent and plays an important role in the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia and inflammatory bowel disease. It may cause severe adverse effects such as myelosuppression, which may result in the interruption of treatment or complications including infection or even threaten patients' lives. However, the adverse effects of mercaptopurine show significant racial and individual differences, which reveal the important role of genetic diversity. Recent research advances in pharmacogenomics have gradually revealed the genetic nature of such differences. This article reviews the recent research advances in the pharmacogenomics and individualized application of mercaptopurine.
Topics: Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic; Humans; Mercaptopurine; Methyltransferases; Pharmacogenetics; Polymorphism, Genetic; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Pyrophosphatases
PubMed: 28899477
DOI: 10.7499/j.issn.1008-8830.2017.09.019 -
Cancer Discovery Nov 2022Low-intensity maintenance therapy with 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) limits the occurrence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) relapse and is central to the success of...
UNLABELLED
Low-intensity maintenance therapy with 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) limits the occurrence of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) relapse and is central to the success of multiagent chemotherapy protocols. Activating mutations in the 5'-nucleotidase cytosolic II (NT5C2) gene drive resistance to 6-MP in over 35% of early relapse ALL cases. Here we identify CRCD2 as a first-in-class small-molecule NT5C2 nucleotidase inhibitor broadly active against leukemias bearing highly prevalent relapse-associated mutant forms of NT5C2 in vitro and in vivo. Importantly, CRCD2 treatment also enhanced the cytotoxic activity of 6-MP in NT5C2 wild-type leukemias, leading to the identification of NT5C2 Ser502 phosphorylation as a novel NT5C2-mediated mechanism of 6-MP resistance in this disease. These results uncover an unanticipated role of nongenetic NT5C2 activation as a driver of 6-MP resistance in ALL and demonstrate the potential of NT5C2 inhibitor therapy for enhancing the efficacy of thiopurine maintenance therapy and overcoming resistance at relapse.
SIGNIFICANCE
Relapse-associated NT5C2 mutations directly contribute to relapse in ALL by driving resistance to chemotherapy with 6-MP. Pharmacologic inhibition of NT5C2 with CRCD2, a first-in-class nucleotidase inhibitor, enhances the cytotoxic effects of 6-MP and effectively reverses thiopurine resistance mediated by genetic and nongenetic mechanisms of NT5C2 activation in ALL. This article is highlighted in the In This Issue feature, p. 2483.
Topics: Humans; Mercaptopurine; 5'-Nucleotidase; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma; Antineoplastic Agents; Recurrence
PubMed: 35984649
DOI: 10.1158/2159-8290.CD-22-0010 -
Saudi Journal of Gastroenterology :... 2022Methotrexate is an antineoplastic agent that is also used at lower doses for anti-inflammatory properties. Along with thiopurines (azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine), it... (Review)
Review
Methotrexate is an antineoplastic agent that is also used at lower doses for anti-inflammatory properties. Along with thiopurines (azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine), it has historically been an important part of pharmacological treatment for patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Despite an increase in therapeutic options, these immunomodulators continue to play important roles in the management of inflammatory bowel disease, used either as a monotherapy in mild to moderate cases or in combination with monoclonal antibodies to prevent immunogenicity and maintain efficacy. In light of data linking the use of thiopurines with the risk of malignancies, methotrexate has regained attention as a potential alternative. In this article, we review data on the pharmacology, safety, and efficacy of methotrexate and discuss options for the positioning of methotrexate alone, or in combination, in therapeutic algorithms for Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Topics: Azathioprine; Colitis, Ulcerative; Gastroenterologists; Humans; Immunosuppressive Agents; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Mercaptopurine; Methotrexate
PubMed: 35042318
DOI: 10.4103/sjg.sjg_496_21