Trial reportHaematologica2026
Imetelstat improves patient-reported outcomes and quality of life in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes: results from the phase III IMerge study.
Trial report in Haematologica, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02598661 (A Study to Evaluate Imetelstat), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
A Study to Evaluate Imetelstat (GRN163L) in Transfusion-Dependent Subjects With IPSS Low or Intermediate-1 Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome (MDS) That is Relapsed/Refractory to Erythropoiesis-Stimulating Agent (ESA) Treatment
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- The patient voice: measuring what matters in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes treated with imetelstat.Haematologica · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Red blood cell (RBC) transfusions for anemia associated with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes/neoplasms (LR-MDS) often contribute to reduced quality of life (QOL). Thus, reduction in RBC transfusion dependency (TD) is a primary therapeutic goal. Imetelstat is a first-in-class, competitive telomerase inhibitor approved to treat certain adult patients with LRMDS with RBC-TD anemia who have not responded to, have lost response to, or are ineligible for erythropoiesis-stimulating agents. In the phase III IMerge study (clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT02598661), treatment with imetelstat resulted in clinically meaningful, statistically significant increases in the primary endpoint of ≥8-week RBC transfusion independence (TI) versus placebo. Because patients with LR-MDS experience detrimental effects on numerous facets of QOL (physical, emotional, social, and functional), these exploratory analyses assessed patient-reported outcomes using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy-Fatigue, Quality of Life in Myelodysplasia Scale, and Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Anemia questionnaires as part of the phase III IMerge study. Nominal P values were reported. Fewer imetelstat-treated patients experienced deterioration in fatigue levels and more imetelstat-treated patients experienced sustained improvement in fatigue levels and QOL versus placebo. In the imetelstat group, 8-week, 24-week, and 1-year RBC-TI responders had sustained improvements in predefined significance thresholds versus non-responders for fatigue (70%, 73%, and 88%, respectively, vs. 37%, 41%, and 44%, respectively; P<0.001, P=0.004, and P=0.002) and QOL across different measures of response (43-53% vs. 21-30%; P≤0.0126). These results suggest that treatment with imetelstat may be associated with improvement in QOL beyond fatigue while sustaining RBC-TI in patients with LR-MDS with RBC-TD anemia.
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Registered trials
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