Evaluation of the Efficacy of Cyclosporin A Combined with Recombined Human Erythropoietin in the Treatment of Patients with Chronic Aplastic Anemia

Objective To compare the efficacy and safety of cyclosporin A(CsA)and CsA combined with recombined human erythropoietin(rhEPO)in the treatment of patients with chronic aplastic anemia(CAA).Methods Data of 79 patients with CAA treated at Department of Hematology,PUMC Hospital between January 2016 and June 2018 were collected for retrospective analysis.Forty-five patients were treated with CsA+rhEPO,and the other 34 patients with CsA alone.All the enrolled patients were treated for at least 1.5-2.0 years and followed for at least 1.0 year.The efficacy,side effects,long-term outcomes were compared between the two groups,and factors that may influence the efficacy were analyzed.Results The patients treated with CsA+rhEPO included 14 males and 31 females,with a median age of 43(19,73)years old.The median treatment duration of CsA and rhEPO was 26(12,38)and 4(3,6)months,respectively,and the median followed-up time was 24(12,42)months.The patients treated with CsA alone included 16 males and 18 females,with a median age of 36(16,85)years old.The median CsA treatment duration was 24(12,40)months and the median follow-up time was 25(12,40)months.There was no statistical difference in baseline characteristics between the two groups(all P>0.05).After 6 months of treatment,CsA+rhEPO group had higher overall response(OR)rate(55.6% vs. 31.3%;χ 2=4.456,P=0.040)and partial response(PR)rate(53.3% vs. 25.0%;χ2=6.181,P=0.019)than CsA group,and the complete response(CR)rate showed no statistical difference between the two groups(2.2% vs. 6.3%;χ2=0.810,P=0.567).The CR,PR,and OR rates showed no statistical difference between the two groups after 3 and 12 months of treatment and at the end of follow-up(all P>0.05).Similarly,the hemoglobin level at the sixth month of treatment with CsA+rhEPO was higher than that with CsA alone [(102.6±24.0)g/L vs.(90.3±29.1)g/L;t=2.017,P=0.047].However,it showed no significant difference between the two groups at other time points(all P>0.05).The side effects,including an increase in serum creatinine,slight increase in bilirubin,increase in aminotransferase,mild to moderate gingival hyperplasia,gastrointestinal reaction,and muscular fibrillation,had no significant differences between the two groups(all P>0.05),except that 11.1%(5/45)patients in the CsA+rhEPO group reported soreness at the injection site.The two groups showed similar rates of clonal revolution during the follow-up period and no death.No clinical factor was found for prediction of the efficacy of CsA+rhEPO. Conclusion CsA+rhEPO has higher OR rate and hemoglobin level than CsA alone at the sixth month of treatment,and it has similar side effects compared with CsA alone.