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Chronic Myelomonocytic LeukemiaPhase 1/2NCT04160052

Venetoclax and Azacitidine for the Treatment of High-Risk Recurrent or Refractory Myelodysplastic Syndrome

A Phase 1/2 study testing Azacitidine and Venetoclax in people with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome, run by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at 1 site in United States.

Terminated

Stopped early. The study ended before it was planned to and will not resume.

Official record
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Trial summary

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of venetoclax when given together with azacitidine in treating patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome that has come back (recurrent) or does not respond to treatment (refractory). Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 18 years and older
What is being tested?
Azacitidine and Venetoclax
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
51 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
1 Oct 2019to 3 Feb 2026
Phase
Phase 1/2
Are there results?
None posted in the registry

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 18 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • For phase I, patients can be HMA-naive high-risk MDS (Int-2 or high risk by the International Prognostic Scoring System [IPSS] with overall score >= 1.5) with excess blasts > 5%, or relapsed/refractory MDS post-HMA failure (defined as prior receipt of 4 cycles of HMA therapy with failure to attain a response, or progression of disease or relapse at any time after prior response to HMA therapy) with > 5% blasts
  • For phase II, patients will be divided into 2 cohorts: Cohort A: patients with HMA-naive high-risk MDS (Int-2 or high risk by the IPSS with overall score >= 1.5) with excess blasts > 5%. Cohort B: patients with relapsed/refractory MDS post-HMA failure (defined as prior receipt of 4 cycles of HMA therapy with failure to attain a response, or progression of disease or relapse at any time after prior response to HMA therapy) with > 5% blasts are eligible. Note: Patients with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) and therapy-related MDS are eligible. Hydroxyurea is allowed to lower the white cell count =< 10,000/ul prior to initiation of venetoclax
  • Total bilirubin < 3 x upper limit of normal (ULN) unless increase is due to Gilbert's disease or leukemic involvement
  • Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) < 4 x ULN unless considered due to leukemic involvement
  • Creatinine < 2 x ULN unless related to the disease
  • Signed written informed consent. Consent may be translated for Non-English Speaking Patients per institutional policy.
  • Females must be surgically or biologically sterile or postmenopausal (amenorrheic for at least 12 months) or if of childbearing potential, must have a negative serum or urine pregnancy test within 72 hours before the start of the treatment. Women of childbearing potential must agree to use an adequate method of contraception during the study and until 3 months after the last treatment
  • Males must be surgically or biologically sterile or agree to use an adequate method of contraception during the study until 3 months after the last treatment

Who cannot join

  • Patients having received any prior BCL2 inhibitor therapy
  • Patients with MDS with IPSS risk categories low or Int-1 (overall IPSS score < 1.5)
  • Pregnant or breastfeeding
  • Cognitively impaired patients

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • M D Anderson Cancer Center

    Houston, Texas, 77030

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Phase I/II of Venetoclax in Combination With Azacitidine in Treatment Naïve and Relapse Refractory High Risk MDS Individuals"

This phase I/II trial studies the side effects and best dose of venetoclax when given together with azacitidine in treating patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome that has come back (recurrent) or does not respond to treatment (refractory). Drugs used in chemotherapy, such as venetoclax and azacitidine, work in different ways to stop the growth of cancer cells, either by killing the cells, by stopping them from dividing, or by stopping them from spreading.

Read the detailed description

PRIMARY OBJECTIVE:

  1. To determine the safety and tolerability (phase 1) and overall response rate (ORR) (phase 2) of venetoclax in combination with azacitidine in patients with treatment-naive high-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) or chronic myelomonocytic leukemia (CMML) with bone marrow excess blasts > 5% and patients that are relapsed/refractory to prior hypomethylating agent (HMA) therapy.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:

  1. Rate of complete remission (CR). II. Rate of marrow/morphologic complete remission (mCR). III. Rate of hematologic improvement (HI; erythroid/platelet/neutrophil responses).

IV. Rate of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion independence. V. Rate of platelet (PLT) transfusion independence. VI. Rate of cytogenetic response. VII. Rate of bone marrow blast response. VIII. Time to transformation to acute myeloid leukemia (AML). IX. Duration of response (DOR). X. Overall survival (OS). XI. Progression-free survival (PFS). XII. Time to next MDS treatment (TTNT). XIII. Event-free survival (EFS).

EXPLORATORY OBJECTIVE:

  1. To investigate the effects of therapy on MDS and to identify biological markers of response to venetoclax and/or its combination with azacitidine.

OUTLINE: This is a phase I, dose-escalation study of venetoclax followed by a phase II study.

Patients receive venetoclax orally (PO) once daily (QD) on days 1-7 or 1-14 and azacitidine subcutaneously (SC) or intravenously (IV) over 15 minutes on days 1-5. Cycles repeat every 4-8 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.

After completion of study treatment, patients are followed up at 30 days and then every 3-6 months for up to 5 years.

Being tested
Azacitidine, Venetoclax
Medical subject headings
Leukemia, Myelomonocytic, Chronic, Myelodysplastic Syndromes

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • AzacitidineDrug

    Also called 5 AZC, 5-AC, 5-Azacytidine, 5-AZC

    Given SC or IV

  • VenetoclaxDrug

    Also called ABT-0199, ABT-199, ABT199, GDC-0199

    Given PO

Study groups in NCT04160052
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Treatment (venetoclax, azacitidine)ExperimentalPatients receive venetoclax orally PO QD on days 1-7 or 1-14 and azacitidine SC or IV over 15 minutes on days 1-5. Cycles repeat every 4-8 weeks in the absence of disease progression or unacceptable toxicity.
Receives: Drug: Azacitidine; Drug: Venetoclax

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the combination regimen of venetoclax and azacitidine (Phase I)

    The MTD is the highest dose level in which < 2 patients of 6 develop first cycle dose-limiting toxicity.

    Measured: Up to 8 weeks

  2. Incidence of adverse events (Phase I)

    Safety data will be summarized by category, severity, and frequency.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

Secondary outcomes (14)
  1. Overall response rate (Phase 2)

    Will be defined as the proportion of patients who had complete remission (CR), partial remission (PR), marrow complete remission, or hematologic improvement lasting at least 4 weeks. Will estimate the overall response rate for the combination treatment, along with the 95% confidence interval.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  2. Rate of CR

    The association between response and patient's clinical characteristics will be examined by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  3. Rate of marrow/morphologic CR

    The association between response and patient's clinical characteristics will be examined by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  4. Rate of hematologic improvement

    The association between response and patient's clinical characteristics will be examined by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  5. Rate of red blood cell transfusion independence

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  6. Rate of platelet transfusion independence

    The association between response and patient's clinical characteristics will be examined by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  7. Rate of cytogenetic response

    The association between response and patient's clinical characteristics will be examined by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  8. Rate of bone marrow blast response

    The association between response and patient's clinical characteristics will be examined by Wilcoxon's rank sum test or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  9. Time to transformation to acute myeloid leukemia

    Will be estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Comparisons of time-to-event endpoints by important subgroups will be made using the log-rank tests.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  10. Duration of response

    Will be estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Comparisons of time-to-event endpoints by important subgroups will be made using the log-rank tests.

    Measured: From the date of initial response (PR or better) to the date of first documented disease progression/relapse or death, whichever occurs first, assessed up to 5 years

  11. Overall survival

    Will be estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Comparisons of time-to-event endpoints by important subgroups will be made using the log-rank tests.

    Measured: From treatment start till death or last follow-up, assessed up to 5 years

  12. Progression-free survival

    Will be estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Comparisons of time-to-event endpoints by important subgroups will be made using the log-rank tests.

    Measured: From treatment to progression or last follow-up, assessed up to 5 years

  13. Time to next myelodysplastic syndrome treatment

    Will be estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Comparisons of time-to-event endpoints by important subgroups will be made using the log-rank tests.

    Measured: Up to 5 years

  14. Event-free survival

    Will be estimated using the method of Kaplan and Meier. Comparisons of time-to-event endpoints by important subgroups will be made using the log-rank tests.

    Measured: From the date of treatment initiation to the date of documented treatment failure, relapses from CR, or death from any cause, whichever occurs first, assessed up to 5 years

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted12 Nov 2019
  2. Study start1 Oct 2019
  3. Primary completion3 Feb 2026
  4. Study completion3 Feb 2026

Why it stopped: \<75% participation

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 1/2
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Not applicable
Intervention model
Single group
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
51 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT04160052
Sponsor's protocol ID
2019-0368
Other IDs
NCI-2019-06873, 2019-0368
Status last verified
Jan 2026
First submitted
4 Nov 2019
Last updated
12 Feb 2026
Results posted
No
Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
Yes
FDA-regulated device
No

Publications

  • Bazinet A, Darbaniyan F, Jabbour E, Montalban-Bravo G, Ohanian M, Chien K, Kadia T, Takahashi K, Masarova L, Short N, Alvarado Y, Yilmaz M, Ravandi F, Andreeff M, Kanagal-Shamanna R, Ganan-Gomez I, Colla S, Qiao W, Huang X, McCue D, Mirabella B, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G. Azacitidine plus venetoclax in patients with high-risk myelodysplastic syndromes or chronic myelomonocytic leukaemia: phase 1 results of a single-centre, dose-escalation, dose-expansion, phase 1-2 study. Lancet Haematol. 2022 Oct;9(10):e756-e765. doi: 10.1016/S2352-3026(22)00216-2. Epub 2022 Sep 2.

    PubMed 36063832

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 1/2 study testing Azacitidine and Venetoclax in people with Chronic Myelomonocytic Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome, run by M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 8 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: stopped early, as of the sponsor's last update on 12 Feb 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this combined phase mean?

Phase 1 studies test a treatment in a small group of people for the first time or in a new way, mainly to check safety and find the right dose.

Phase 2 studies give the treatment to a larger group to see whether it has the intended effect and to keep checking safety.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

The study was stopped early (reason given: \<75% participation). Results are not available in the source record.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of the combination regimen of venetoclax and azacitidine (Phase I) (time frame: Up to 8 weeks). The study lists 2 primary outcomes in all. It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT04160052, which also lists 1 linked publication.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 12 Feb 2026.

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