Safety and Efficacy of Apixaban Thrombosis Prevention in the Obese Pediatric Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Open Access

• • Obese children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma (ALL/LL) are at risk of venous thromboembolic (VTE) complications.

• • Apixaban prophylaxis resulted in a statistically significant reduction in VTE in obese children without an increase in bleeding risk.

Pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and lymphoma (ALL/LL) and obesity are at increased risk for venous thromboembolism (VTE). The PREVAPIX-ALL trial was an open-label randomized controlled trial assessing the safety and efficacy of apixaban for VTE prevention in pediatric patients with ALL/LL. An a priori subgroup analysis of obese patients in PREVAPIX-ALL was planned due to increased VTE risk in this group. Obese patients, ages ≥ 2 to < 18 years, with a central venous catheter, and chemotherapy containing asparaginase were randomized to apixaban (prophylactic dose) versus standard of care (SOC-no anticoagulation) during induction chemotherapy (29 days). The primary efficacy endpoint was a composite of non-fatal symptomatic and asymptomatic VTE and VTE-related-death. The primary and secondary safety outcomes were major bleeding and a composite of major and clinically relevant non-major (CRNM) bleeding, respectively. Eighty-two PREVAPIX-ALL participants presented with obesity, of which 42 were randomized to apixaban. For the primary efficacy endpoint, a significant decrease in VTE events was present in the apixaban arm (1/42 [2.4%]) as compared to the SOC arm (10/40 [25%]), (Relative Risk (RR) 0.09; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.01-0.97; P=0.007). There was a statistically significant treatment obesity interaction, P=0.03. No statistically significant difference was observed for the primary efficacy endpoint among the non-obese group (RR 0.85; 95% CI, 0.53-1.37; P=0.50). No significant difference was observed in major or CRNM bleeding among subgroups. Apixaban prophylaxis in obese ALL/LL patients resulted in a statistically significant VTE risk reduction with no increase in bleeding events. (NCT02369653).