HHT is associated with substantial morbidity, leading to a reduced quality of life, decreased rate of employment and a high incidence of depression. There currently exists no medical therapy recognized as consistently efficacious in HHT. Reports of the efficacy of thalidomide in HHT, as well as interim results of a pilot trial of pomalidomide in HHT provide evidence of efficacy with minimal toxicity. The favorable efficacy:toxicity ratio of pomalidomide suggest that it may benefit patients with HHT.~This study is designed as a Phase II placebo-controlled double-blind study of pomalidomide in HHT patients with moderate to severe epistaxis who have anemia and/or require parenteral iron infusions or blood transfusions. A total of 159 patients will be randomized 2:1 to treatment with oral pomalidomide or matching placebo for 24 weeks.~Primary Objective: To determine efficacy of pomalidomide compared to placebo for the reduction in severity of epistaxis after 24 weeks of treatment.~Secondary Objectives: To determine the safety and tolerability of pomalidomide for the treatment of HHT; to determine if pomalidomide treatment improves quality of life in HHT; to determine whether a continued response to pomalidomide is evident 4 weeks after treatment discontinuation; to develop a biorepository for future studies to define biomarkers predictive of pomalidomide response and allow investigations into the biology of HHT and mechanisms of pomalidomide.
This is a Phase II placebo-controlled double-blind study of pomalidomide in patients with hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) with moderate to severe epistaxis who have anemia and/or require parenteral iron infusions or blood transfusions. A total of 159 patients will be randomized 2:1 to treatment with oral pomalidomide or matching placebo for 24 weeks. Mean change from baseline to 24 weeks in the Epistaxis Severity Score (ESS) will be compared between treatment groups to determine pomalidomide efficacy.