According to research presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, two recently approved drugs have been shown to continue to be effective and safe for treatment of thrombocytopenia (ITP), a condition in which an abnormal decrease in number of blood platelets is present and could lead to hemorrhage, especially intracranial.

     David Kuter, M.D., of Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, said that an open-label extension study of romiplostim (Nplate) showed no new safety issues, no increase in adverse events over time, and stability in both dose and effectiveness.

     Mansoor Saleh, M.D., of Georgia Cancer Specialists, Atlanta, reported that a similar extension analysis of eltrombopag (Promacta) also demonstrated continued effectiveness in increasing platelet counts and reducing bleeding while showing no new safety signals.

     Although the studies are the largest ever done in immune thrombocytopenia, they don't give much guidance as to which drug to choose, according to Terry Gernsheimer, M.D., of the University of Washington, Seattle, who was one of the moderators of the session at which the studies were presented. Their clinical use will probably depend on whether patients prefer a once-weekly injection (romiplostim) or a daily pill that has to be taken at odd hours to meet dietary restrictions (eltrombopag).

--Source: Excerpted from "ASH: ITP Extension Studies Continue to Show Benefits," Michael Smith, MedPage Today, December 9, 2010