Continuous treatment with second-line nintedanib combined with docetaxel was manageable and showed promising signs of efficacy in Japanese patients with advanced non-small-cell lung cancer.

Background/aimA post-marketing surveillance (PMS) study is being conducted to investigate the safety and effectiveness of the long-term use of dabigatran etexilate (dabigatran) in Japanese patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). Results of an interim analysis of this prospective cohort study including patient characteristics and adverse drug reactions (ADRs) collected up to September 17, 2014 are reported here.MethodsPatients with NVAF who began to receive dabigatran for the first time from December 2011 to November 2013 were enrolled at 1042 study sites in Japan. Clinical parameters included patient characteristics, dabigatran dose strength, concomitant medications and outcome events. All outcome events were collected as serious and non-serious adverse events (AEs). ADRs were evaluated in this report. Pre-defined safety events of special interest for intensive survey were serious and non-serious outcome events such as myocardial infarction, as well as the total number of hemorrhage and gastrointestinal disorders.ResultsA total of 6772 patients were registered. The safety analysis set included 6148 patients; mean age was 70.8±9.9 (SD) years: 2323 patients (37.8%) were aged 75 years or older. Males accounted for 66.8% of the patients. Mean CHADS2 score was 1.8±1.3; the CHADS2 score was 0 in 13.6%, 1 in 31.3%, 2 in 25.9%, 3 in 14.9%, and 4 to 6 in 11.1% of the patients. Of the 6148 patients, 1701 patients (27.7%) were switchers from warfarin and 4407 patients (71.7%) were non-switchers (OAC naïve patients). Treatment adherence was assessed for the first 3 months from the start of treatment for this analysis. Total 5656 patients (92.0%) reported taking dabigatran twice daily (bid) every day according to the label recommendation. During the follow up period [mean duration of follow up: 498±259 days (corresponding to 8386 patient-years)], pre-defined safety events of special interest for intensive survey (reported as serious ADRs) were: myocardial infarction, reported in 5 patients (0.06 per 100 patient-years); serious hemorrhage, reported in 46 patients (0.55 per 100 patient-years); and gastrointestinal disorders (non-hemorrhagic), reported in 11 patients (0.13 per 100 patient-years). Fifteen patients had ADRs with fatal outcome.ConclusionsThe interim findings from this 6148 patient PMS study further corroborate the favorable safety profile of dabigatran as demonstrated previously in controlled clinical trials.(ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01491178.)

Objective. To evaluate the efficacy and safety of the telmisartan plus amlodipine (T/A) single-pill combination (SPC) in Asian patients with hypertension whose blood pressure (BP) was not adequately controlled on either monotherapy or on low-dose combination therapy. Patients and Methods. Data are presented from five Boehringer Ingelheim-sponsored phase 3, double-blind, 8-week, studies: two studies in nonresponders to amlodipine (data pooled for amlodipine), two studies on nonresponders to telmisartan (pooled data), and one on nonresponders to low-dose T/A SPC. Results. After 8 weeks' treatment, mean reductions from the reference baseline in diastolic BP (DBP; primary endpoint), systolic BP (SBP), and SBP, DBP goal, and response rates were higher with the T/A SPC than respective monotherapies. The T80/A5 SPC resulted in greater reductions in DBP and SBP, and higher DBP goal and response rate than the low-dose T40/A5 SPC. Peripheral edema incidence was low (amlodipine 0.5%, telmisartan 0.0%, and T/A SPC 0.7%). Discussion and Conclusion. In Asian patients whose BP is not adequately controlled with telmisartan or amlodipine monotherapy, T/A SPC treatment results in greater BP reduction, and higher DBP and SBP goal and response rates. The safety and tolerability of the T/A SPC are comparable to those of the respective monotherapies and consistent with those reported in previous studies.

Introduction: Daily burden of patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) who have not received maintenance dialysis or renal transplantation has not been well reported compared with patients receiving dialysis. We conducted a patient survey and an advisory board in Japan to investigate the experience and perception of CKD and its treatments from the patient's Digital Features This article is published with a Japanese translation, to facilitate understanding of the article. To view digital features for this article go to https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.21603603. N. Yagi (&)Patient Engagement,

8056 Background: Nintedanib (N) is a potent, orally bio-available triple angiokinase inhibitor that targets VEGFRs, PDGFRs and FGFRs, as well as RET and Flt3. The open-label phase I part of this phase I/II study was designed to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of N when combined with standard-dose pemetrexed (PEM), and to investigate safety and efficacy in Japanese patients (pts) with advanced/recurrent NSCLC. Methods: Eligible pts had histologically/cytologically confirmed stage IIIB/IV or recurrent NSCLC (any histology) after failure of first-line chemotherapy. Pts received PEM 500 mg/m2 iv on day 1 followed by N twice daily (bid) po on days 2–21 every 21 days using a standard 3+3 design. N was started at 100 mg bid and escalated to 200 mg bid in 50 mg bid intervals. Pts received ≥4 cycles of combination therapy with an option of continuing with single-agent N until disease progression or undue adverse events (AEs). Primary endpoints were MTD, defined as the highest dose at which incidence of dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) was <33.3%, and safety. DLTs were defined as grade 3 non-hematologic or grade 4 hematologic AEs. Secondary endpoints included objective tumor response and pharmacokinetics (PKs). Results: 18 pts (14 male) were treated: 3 at N 100 mg bid, 6 at N 150 mg bid, and 9 at N 200 mg bid. DLTs were observed in 0/3, 1/6, and 2/9 pts in each cohort, respectively; 2 of these pts had liver enzyme elevations. The MTD for N (plus PEM) was 200 mg bid. The most common drug-related AEs were increased GGT, increased AST, decreased appetite, and diarrhea. Grade 3 AEs included neutropenia (22.2%), increased AST, increased ALT, and lymphopenia (each 11.1%); no pts experienced grade 4/5 AEs. Two pts (11.1%) achieved a partial response and 12 (66.7%) had stable disease. At the MTD, N exposure after PEM administration was similar to that seen with N monotherapy in a previous Japanese study. Co-administration of N did not affect the PKs of PEM. Conclusions: The combination of N and standard-dose PEM had a manageable safety profile and showed promising signs of efficacy in previously treated Japanese pts with advanced/recurrent NSCLC. As in Caucasian pts, the MTD of N was 200 mg bid. Clinical trial information: NCT00979576.