Medical Dialogues
  • Dermatology
Login Register
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
Login Register
  • MD Brand Connect
  • Vaccine Hub
  • MDTV
    • Breaking News
    • Medical News Today
    • Health News Today
    • Latest
    • Journal Club
    • Medico Legal Update
    • Latest Webinars
    • MD Shorts
    • Health Dialogues
  • Fact Check
  • Health Dialogues
Medical Dialogues
  • Medical News & Guidelines
      • Anesthesiology
      • Cardiology and CTVS
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diabetes and Endocrinology
      • ENT
      • Gastroenterology
      • Medicine
      • Nephrology
      • Neurology
      • Obstretics-Gynaecology
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics-Neonatology
      • Psychiatry
      • Pulmonology
      • Radiology
      • Surgery
      • Urology
      • Laboratory Medicine
      • Diet
      • Nursing
      • Paramedical
      • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
      • Doctor News
      • Government Policies
      • Hospital & Diagnostics
      • International Health News
      • Medical Organization News
      • Medico Legal News
      • NBE News
      • NMC News
  • Fact Check
      • Bone Health Fact Check
      • Brain Health Fact Check
      • Cancer Related Fact Check
      • Child Care Fact Check
      • Dental and oral health fact check
      • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
      • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
      • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
      • Fitness fact check
      • Gut health fact check
      • Heart health fact check
      • Kidney health fact check
      • Medical education fact check
      • Men's health fact check
      • Respiratory fact check
      • Skin and hair care fact check
      • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
      • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
    • Homeopathy
    • Siddha
    • Unani
    • Yoga
  • State News
      • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
      • Andhra Pradesh
      • Arunachal Pradesh
      • Assam
      • Bihar
      • Chandigarh
      • Chattisgarh
      • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
      • Daman and Diu
      • Delhi
      • Goa
      • Gujarat
      • Haryana
      • Himachal Pradesh
      • Jammu & Kashmir
      • Jharkhand
      • Karnataka
      • Kerala
      • Ladakh
      • Lakshadweep
      • Madhya Pradesh
      • Maharashtra
      • Manipur
      • Meghalaya
      • Mizoram
      • Nagaland
      • Odisha
      • Puducherry
      • Punjab
      • Rajasthan
      • Sikkim
      • Tamil Nadu
      • Telangana
      • Tripura
      • Uttar Pradesh
      • Uttrakhand
      • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
      • Ayush Education News
      • Dentistry Education News
      • Medical Admission News
      • Medical Colleges News
      • Medical Courses News
      • Medical Universities News
      • Nursing education News
      • Paramedical Education News
      • Study Abroad
  • Industry
      • Health Investment News
      • Health Startup News
      • Medical Devices News
      • Pharma News
      • Pharmacy Education News
      • Industry Perspective
  • MDTV
      • Health Dialogues MDTV
      • Health News today MDTV
      • Latest Videos MDTV
      • Latest Webinars MDTV
      • MD shorts MDTV
      • Medical News Today MDTV
      • Medico Legal Update MDTV
      • Top Videos MDTV
      • Health Perspectives MDTV
      • Journal Club MDTV
      • Medical Dialogues Show
This site is intended for healthcare professionals only
LoginRegister
Medical Dialogues
LoginRegister
  • Home
  • Medical news & Guidelines
    • Anesthesiology
    • Cardiology and CTVS
    • Critical Care
    • Dentistry
    • Dermatology
    • Diabetes and Endocrinology
    • ENT
    • Gastroenterology
    • Medicine
    • Nephrology
    • Neurology
    • Obstretics-Gynaecology
    • Oncology
    • Ophthalmology
    • Orthopaedics
    • Pediatrics-Neonatology
    • Psychiatry
    • Pulmonology
    • Radiology
    • Surgery
    • Urology
    • Laboratory Medicine
    • Diet
    • Nursing
    • Paramedical
    • Physiotherapy
  • Health news
    • Doctor News
    • Government Policies
    • Hospital & Diagnostics
    • International Health News
    • Medical Organization News
    • Medico Legal News
    • NBE News
    • NMC News
  • Fact Check
    • Bone Health Fact Check
    • Brain Health Fact Check
    • Cancer Related Fact Check
    • Child Care Fact Check
    • Dental and oral health fact check
    • Diabetes and metabolic health fact check
    • Diet and Nutrition Fact Check
    • Eye and ENT Care Fact Check
    • Fitness fact check
    • Gut health fact check
    • Heart health fact check
    • Kidney health fact check
    • Medical education fact check
    • Men's health fact check
    • Respiratory fact check
    • Skin and hair care fact check
    • Vaccine and Immunization fact check
    • Women's health fact check
  • AYUSH
    • Ayurveda
      • Ayurveda Giuidelines
      • Ayurveda News
    • Homeopathy
      • Homeopathy Guidelines
      • Homeopathy News
    • Siddha
      • Siddha Guidelines
      • Siddha News
    • Unani
      • Unani Guidelines
      • Unani News
    • Yoga
      • Yoga Guidelines
      • Yoga News
  • State News
    • Andaman and Nicobar Islands
    • Andhra Pradesh
    • Arunachal Pradesh
    • Assam
    • Bihar
    • Chandigarh
    • Chattisgarh
    • Dadra and Nagar Haveli
    • Daman and Diu
    • Delhi
    • Goa
    • Gujarat
    • Haryana
    • Himachal Pradesh
    • Jammu & Kashmir
    • Jharkhand
    • Karnataka
    • Kerala
    • Ladakh
    • Lakshadweep
    • Madhya Pradesh
    • Maharashtra
    • Manipur
    • Meghalaya
    • Mizoram
    • Nagaland
    • Odisha
    • Puducherry
    • Punjab
    • Rajasthan
    • Sikkim
    • Tamil Nadu
    • Telangana
    • Tripura
    • Uttar Pradesh
    • Uttrakhand
    • West Bengal
  • Medical Education
    • Ayush Education News
    • Dentistry Education News
    • Medical Admission News
    • Medical Colleges News
    • Medical Courses News
    • Medical Universities News
    • Nursing education News
    • Paramedical Education News
    • Study Abroad
  • Industry
    • Health Investment News
    • Health Startup News
    • Medical Devices News
    • Pharma News
      • CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) News
    • Pharmacy Education News
    • Industry Perspective
  • Home
  • Pediatrics and Neonatology
  • Pediatrics and Neonatology News
  • FDA approves first...

FDA approves first treatment for Neurofibromatosis in children

Written By : Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Published On 2020-04-11T07:08:09+05:30  |  Updated On 11 April 2020 7:54 AM IST
FDA approves first treatment for Neurofibromatosis in children
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • Telegram
  • Email

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved Koselugo (selumetinib) for the treatment of pediatric patients, 2 years of age and older, with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1), a genetic disorder of the nervous system causing tumors to grow on nerves. Koselugo is the first drug approved by the FDA to treat this debilitating, progressive and often disfiguring rare disease that typically begins early in life.

The FDA has granted approval of Koselugo to AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals LP.

Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a condition characterized by changes in skin coloring (pigmentation) and the growth of tumors along nerves in the skin, brain, and other parts of the body. The signs and symptoms of this condition vary widely among affected people.

Beginning in early childhood, almost all people with neurofibromatosis type 1 have multiple café-au-lait spots, which are flat patches on the skin that are darker than the surrounding area.

"Everyone's daily lives have been disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in this critical time we want patients to know that the FDA remains committed to making patients with rare tumors and life threatening diseases, and their unique needs, a top priority. We continue to expedite product development for these patients," said Richard Pazdur, M.D., director of the FDA's Oncology Center of Excellence and acting director of the Office of Oncologic Diseases in the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.

Koselugo is approved specifically for patients who have symptomatic, inoperable plexiform neurofibromas (PN), which are tumors involving the nerve sheaths (coating around nerve fibers) and can grow anywhere in the body, including the face, extremities, areas around the spine and deep in the body where they may affect organs. Koselugo is a kinase inhibitor, meaning it functions by blocking a key enzyme, which results in helping to stop the tumor cells from growing.

NF1 is a rare, progressive condition caused by a mutation or flaw in a particular gene. NF1 is usually diagnosed in early childhood and appears in an estimated 1 out of every 3,000 infants. It is characterized by changes in skin coloring (pigmentation), neurologic and skeletal impairments and risk for development of benign and malignant tumors throughout life. Between 30% and 50% of patients born with NF1 develop one or more PNs.

"We are committed to regulatory flexibility and providing extensive guidance to industry in an effort to bring drugs forward that fulfill unmet medical needs. Koselugo represents this commitment," noted Pazdur. "For the first time, pediatric patients now have an FDA-approved drug to treat plexiform neurofibroma, a rare tumor associated with NF1."

The FDA approved Koselugo based on a clinical trial conducted by the National Cancer Institute of pediatric patients who had NF1 and inoperable PN (defined as a PN that could not be completely removed without risk for substantial morbidity to the patient). The efficacy results were from 50 of the patients who received the recommended dose and had routine evaluations of changes in tumor size and tumor-related morbidities during the trial. Patients received Koselugo 25 mg/m2 orally twice a day until disease progression or until they experienced unacceptable adverse reactions. The clinical trial measured the overall response rate (ORR), defined as the percentage of patients with a complete response and those who experienced more than a 20% reduction in PN volume on MRI that was confirmed on a subsequent MRI within 3-6 months. The ORR was 66% and all patients had a partial response, meaning that no patients had complete disappearance of the tumor. Of these patients, 82% had a response lasting 12 months or longer.

Other clinical outcomes for patients during Koselugo treatment including changes in PN-related disfigurement, symptoms and functional impairments. Although the sample sizes of patients assessed for each PN-related morbidity (such as disfigurement, pain, strength and mobility problems, airway compression, visual impairment and bladder or bowel dysfunction) were small, there appeared to be a trend of improvement in PN-related symptoms or functional deficits during treatment.

Common side effects for patients taking Koselugo were vomiting, rash, abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, dry skin, fatigue, musculoskeletal pain (pain in the body affecting bones, muscles, ligaments, tendons and nerves), fever, acneiform rash (acne), stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth and lips), headache, paronychia (infection in the skin that surrounds a toenail or fingernail) and pruritus (itching).

Koselugo can also cause serious side effects including heart failure (manifested as ejection fraction decrease, or when the muscle of the left ventricle of the heart is not pumping as well as normal) and ocular toxicity (acute and chronic damage to the eye) including retinal vein occlusion, retinal pigment epithelial detachment and impaired vision. Patients should have cardiac and ophthalmic assessments performed prior to initiating Koselugo and at regular intervals during treatment. Koselugo can also cause increased creatinine phosphokinase (CPK). CPK is an enzyme found in the heart, brain and skeletal muscles. When muscle tissue is damaged, CPK leaks into a person's blood. CPK elevation in a patient receiving Koselugo should prompt an evaluation for rhabdomyolysis (breakdown of skeletal muscle due to direct or indirect muscle injury). Koselugo should be withheld, dosage reduced or dosage permanently discontinued based on the severity of adverse reactions. Further, Koselugo contains Vitamin E, and patients are at an increased risk of bleeding if their daily intake of Vitamin E exceeds the recommended or safe limits.

Based on findings from animal studies, Koselugo may cause harm to a newborn baby when administered to a pregnant woman. The FDA advises health care professionals to tell females of reproductive age, and males with female partners of reproductive potential, to use effective contraception during treatment with Koselugo, and for one week after the last dose.

The FDA granted this application Priority Review and Breakthrough Therapy designation. Koselugo also received Orphan Drug designation, which provides incentives to assist and encourage the development of drugs for rare diseases, and Rare Pediatric Disease Designation for the treatment of pediatric NF1. The application is awarded a Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher.

NeurofibromatosischildrenFood and drug administrationUS food and drug administrationSelumetinibKoselugo
Source : FDA
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli
Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli

Dr Kamal Kant Kohli-MBBS, DTCD- a chest specialist with more than 30 years of practice and a flair for writing clinical articles, Dr Kamal Kant Kohli joined Medical Dialogues as a Chief Editor of Medical News. Besides writing articles, as an editor, he proofreads and verifies all the medical content published on Medical Dialogues including those coming from journals, studies,medical conferences,guidelines etc. Email: drkohli@medicaldialogues.in. Contact no. 011-43720751

Show Full Article
Next Story

Editorial

Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

Azmarda Outperforms Generic Sacubitril/Valsartan in HFrEF Management, says new study

First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

First Indian Consensus on Managing Refractory Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Recommends Vonoprazan

Re-visiting the Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

Re-visiting the Role of Pneumococcal Vaccination in Patients with Cardiovascular Diseases

Prediabetes and the Mind: Unraveling Cognitive and Mental Health Risks

Prediabetes and the Mind: Unraveling Cognitive and Mental Health Risks

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer - Dr Aditya Murali

Real-World Case study: Darbepoetin Alfa for Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia in Metastatic Breast Cancer...

View All

Journal Club Today

Universal Heart Health Advice Ignores Realities in Low-Income Countries: Study Finds

Universal Heart Health Advice Ignores Realities in Low-Income Countries: Study Finds

View All

Health News Today

Health Bulletin 24/May/2025

Health Bulletin 24/May/2025

View All
© 2022 All Rights Reserved.
Powered By: Hocalwire
X
We use cookies for analytics, advertising and to improve our site. You agree to our use of cookies by continuing to use our site. To know more, see our Cookie Policy and Cookie Settings.Ok