Trial Outcomes & Findings for Imatinib for Pain in Sickle Cell Anemia (NCT NCT03997903)

NCT ID: NCT03997903

Last Updated: 2026-01-29

Results Overview

Percent change in Band 3 Phosphorylation tested in red blood cells. Band 3 is a protein found on the membrane of red blood cells.

Recruitment status

TERMINATED

Study phase

PHASE1/PHASE2

Target enrollment

7 participants

Primary outcome timeframe

Change from baseline Band 3 Phosphorylation at 7 months

Results posted on

2026-01-29

Participant Flow

7 met inclusion criteria. 3 of the participants were on treatment arm and 4 were healthy participants.

Participant milestones

Participant milestones
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Control Group for Blood Draws
Participants who were consented for the purposes of providing blood samples to serve as normal controls for laboratory testing. They did not participate in any other study aspects, nor had data collected related to demographics or laboratory parameters.
Overall Study
STARTED
3
4
Overall Study
COMPLETED
1
4
Overall Study
NOT COMPLETED
2
0

Reasons for withdrawal

Withdrawal data not reported

Baseline Characteristics

Imatinib for Pain in Sickle Cell Anemia

Baseline characteristics by cohort

Baseline characteristics by cohort
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Age, Categorical
<=18 years
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Age, Categorical
Between 18 and 65 years
3 Participants
n=41 Participants
Age, Categorical
>=65 years
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
1 Participants
n=41 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
2 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
American Indian or Alaska Native
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Asian
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Black or African American
3 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
White
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
More than one race
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Race (NIH/OMB)
Unknown or Not Reported
0 Participants
n=41 Participants
Sickle Cell Genotype: HbSS
3 participants
n=41 Participants
Disease Status
3 Participants
n=41 Participants
Performance Level
3 Participants
n=41 Participants
Organ Function
3 Participants
n=41 Participants

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Change from baseline Band 3 Phosphorylation at 7 months

Population: Baseline samples for 2 of the 3 participants were processed but were not measurable (possible damage during transportation). 2 of the 3 participants did not have month 7 samples collected. 1 was collected by were not measurable (possible damage during transportation).

Percent change in Band 3 Phosphorylation tested in red blood cells. Band 3 is a protein found on the membrane of red blood cells.

Outcome measures

Outcome data not reported

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: change from baseline microparticle release at 7 months

Population: Change in microparticle release from baseline to 7 months was calculated for the one participant that completed the study

Change in Microparticles released from red blood cells. Microparticles are small vesicles released from red blood cells during aging, stress, or other types of damage that contain various proteins from inside the red blood cell, as well as from its membrane.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=1 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Change in Amount of Microparticles Released From Red Blood Cells
-48 Microparticles per microliter of plasma

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Change from baseline of percent irreversibly sickled cells at 7 months

Population: Only one participant completed 7 months of the study to be analyzed

Functional RBCs is analyzed by two components, one of which is percent irreversibly sickled cells. The percent of irreversibly sickled cells is measure by ektacytometry. Red blood cells that sickle and then cannot revert back to its normal shape are considered irreversibly sickled, increasing the likelihood of adhesion to vessel walls, as well as breakdown or hemolysis. Understanding the point of susceptibility of sickling helps us at what partial pressure of oxygen the red blood cell will sickle. The higher the partial pressure, the more resistant the red blood cell is to sickling/breakdown.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=1 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Change in Percent Irreversibly Sickled Cells
0.32 percent

PRIMARY outcome

Timeframe: Change from baseline of point of susceptibility of sickling at 7 months

Population: Only 1 participant completed 7 months of the study to be analyzed.

Functional RBCs is analyzed by two components, one of which is Change in Point of Susceptibility to Sickling. This is measured by OxygenScan. The point of susceptibility of sickling shows at what partial pressure of oxygen (mmHg) the red blood cell will sickle. The higher the partial pressure, the more resistant the red blood cell is to sickling/breakdown.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=1 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Change in Point of Susceptibility to Sickling by OxygenScan
-6.39 mmHg

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: Assessed monthly from treatment start up to 7 months

Defined as an acute episode of pain lasting greater than 24 hours, with no medically determined cause other than a vaso-occlusive event that resulted in treatment with oral or parenteral opiate agents and/or parenteral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents. Degree of pain was measured by the standard numerical pain scale (0 being little to no pain, 10 being the worst pain).

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Number of Instances of Vaso-occlusive Crisis (VOC)
4 events

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: Assessed monthly from treatment start up to 7 months

Defined as respiratory distress (hypoxia, shortness of breath, chest pain, tachypnea) with evidence of an infiltrate on chest x-ray Measured with clinical evaluation.

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Number of Instances of Acute Chest Syndrome (ACS)
1 event

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: Assessed monthly from treatment start up to 7 months

Population: Data was not analyzed as participants did not utilize the pain diary or were lost-to-follow-up so pain diary data was not obtained.

Defined as oral opioid use. Oral use will be documented in pain diary by patient/guardian and reviewed at each visit.

Outcome measures

Outcome data not reported

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: Assessed monthly from treatment start up to 7 months

Defined as an emergency room or clinic visit resulting in an inpatient admission or observation for a sickle cell-related event (e.g. vaso-occlusive pain, acute chest syndrome, etc).

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Number of Hospitalizations
5 hospitalizations

SECONDARY outcome

Timeframe: Assessed monthly from treatment start up to 7 months

Population: Total number of serious adverse events or adverse events during study participation.

Assessment of toxicities based on clinical and laboratory evaluation

Outcome measures

Outcome measures
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 Participants
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Assessment of Toxicities of Imatinib in Patients With Sickle Cell Anemia
21 events

Adverse Events

Imatinib Intervention

Serious events: 2 serious events
Other events: 3 other events
Deaths: 0 deaths

Serious adverse events

Serious adverse events
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 participants at risk
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders
Grade 3 Non Cardiac Chest Pain
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 1 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders
Grade 3 Lung Infection
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 1 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Musculoskeletal and connective tissue disorders
Grade 3 Pain in Extremity
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.

Other adverse events

Other adverse events
Measure
Imatinib Intervention
n=3 participants at risk
Imatinib Mesylate: The starting dose for subjects will be 340 mg/m2/day with a maximum dose of 600 mg daily. Patients will receive Imatinib orally once daily for 6 months.
Renal and urinary disorders
Hyperuricemia
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Hepatobiliary disorders
Alkaline Phosphatase Increased
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Endocrine disorders
Hyperglycemia
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Nausea
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Blood and lymphatic system disorders
Anemia
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Metabolism and nutrition disorders
Hypoglycemia
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Metabolism and nutrition disorders
Hypokalemia
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Ear and labyrinth disorders
Nasal Congestion
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Hepatobiliary disorders
Alanine Aminotransferase Increased
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Hepatobiliary disorders
Aspartate Aminotransferase Increased
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Vomiting
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Nervous system disorders
Headache
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Abdominal Pain
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Gastrointestinal disorders
Constipation
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Hepatobiliary disorders
Hyperbilirubinemia
66.7%
2/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders
Rash
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Blood and lymphatic system disorders
Neutropenia
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.
Blood and lymphatic system disorders
Lymphocytosis
33.3%
1/3 • Number of events 3 • 3 years
Systematic Assessment through regular investigator assessment and regular laboratory testing. Adverse events were not collected for the control group as they only provided blood samples to serve as controls during shipment/processing.

Additional Information

Seethal Jacob, MD

Indiana University

Phone: 317-944-8784

Results disclosure agreements

  • Principal investigator is a sponsor employee
  • Publication restrictions are in place