Summary of the safety profile
The most common adverse reactions were increased alanine aminotransferase (58.9%), decreased platelet count (40.0%), decreased haemoglobin (37.4%), diarrhoea (37.0%), nausea (34.0%), abdominal pain (29.4%), headache (27.5%), vomiting (24.5%) and decreased neutrophil count (21.9%).
The most common Grade 3 or 4 adverse reactions were decreased platelet count (40%), decreased haemoglobin (35.5%), decreased neutrophil count (21.5%), increased alanine aminotransferase (12.1%), bacteraemia (7.2%) and fungal infections (5.7%). The most common serious adverse reactions in the VANFLYTA arm were neutropenia (3.0%), fungal infections (2.3%) and herpes infections (2.3%). Adverse reactions with fatal outcome were fungal infections (0.8%) and cardiac arrest (0.4%).
The most common adverse reactions associated with dose interruption of VANFLYTA were neutropenia (10.6%), thrombocytopenia (4.5%) and prolonged electrocardiogram QT interval (2.6%). The most common adverse reactions associated with dose reduction were neutropenia (9.1%), thrombocytopenia (4.5%) and prolonged electrocardiogram QT interval (3.8%).
The most common adverse reaction associated with permanent discontinuation of VANFLYTA was thrombocytopenia (1.1%).
Tabulated list of adverse reactions
The safety of VANFLYTA was investigated in QuANTUM-First, a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study in adult patients with newly diagnosed FLT3-ITD positive AML.
Adverse reactions are listed according to MedDRA System Organ Class (SOC). Within each SOC, the adverse reactions are ranked by frequency with the most frequent reactions first, using the following convention: very common (≥ 1/10), common (≥ 1/100 to < 1/10), uncommon (≥ 1/1 000 to < 1/100), rare (≥ 1/10 000 to < 1/1 000), very rare (< 1/10 000), not known (cannot be estimated from the available data). Within each frequency category, adverse reactions are presented in order of decreasing seriousness.
Table 4: Adverse reactions
| Adverse reaction | All grades % | Grade 3 or 4 % | Frequency category (All grades) |
| Infections and infestations |
| Upper respiratory tract infectionsa | 18.1 | 1.9 | Very common |
| Fungal infectionsb | 15.1 | 5.7 | Very common |
| Herpes infectionsc | 14.0 | 3.0 | Very common |
| Bacteraemiad | 11.3 | 7.2 | Very common |
| Blood and lymphatic system disorders |
| Thrombocytopeniae | 40.0 | 40.0 | Very common |
| Anaemiae | 37.4 | 35.5 | Very common |
| Neutropeniae | 21.9 | 21.5 | Very common |
| Pancytopenia | 2.6 | 2.3 | Common |
| Metabolism and nutrition disorders |
| Decreased appetite | 17.4 | 4.9 | Very common |
| Nervous system disorders |
| Headachef | 27.5 | 0 | Very common |
| Cardiac disorders |
| Cardiac arrestg | 0.8 | 0.4 | Uncommon |
| Ventricular fibrillationg | 0.4 | 0.4 | Uncommon |
| Respiratory, thoracic and mediastinal disorders |
| Epistaxis | 15.1 | 1.1 | Very common |
| Gastrointestinal disorders |
| Diarrhoeah | 37.0 | 3.8 | Very common |
| Nausea | 34.0 | 1.5 | Very common |
| Abdominal paini | 29.4 | 2.3 | Very common |
| Vomiting | 24.5 | 0 | Very common |
| Dyspepsia | 11.3 | 0.4 | Very common |
| Hepatobiliary disorders |
| ALT increasede | 58.9 | 12.1 | Very common |
| General disorders and administration site conditions |
| Oedemaj | 18.9 | 0.4 | Very common |
| Investigations |
| Prolonged electrocardiogram QTk | 14.0 | 3.0 | Very common |
Standard chemotherapy = cytarabine (cytosine arabinoside) and anthracycline (daunorubicin or idarubicin).
a Upper respiratory tract infections include upper respiratory tract infection, nasopharyngitis, sinusitis, rhinitis, tonsillitis, laryngopharyngitis, pharyngitis bacterial, pharyngotonsillitis, viral pharyngitis and acute sinusitis.
b Fungal infections include oral candidiasis, bronchopulmonary aspergillosis, fungal infection, vulvovaginal candidiasis, aspergillus infection, lower respiratory tract infection fungal, oral fungal infection, candida infection, fungal skin infection, mucormycosis, oropharyngeal candidiasis, aspergillosis oral, hepatic infection fungal, hepatosplenic candidiasis, onychomycosis, fungemia, systemic candida and systemic mycosis.
c Herpes infections include oral herpes, herpes zoster, herpes virus infections, herpes simplex, human herpesvirus 6 infection, genital herpes and herpes dermatitis.
d Bacteraemia includes bacteraemia, Klebsiella bacteraemia, Staphylococcal bacteraemia, Enterococcal bacteraemia, Streptococcal bacteraemia, device-related bacteraemia, Escherichia bacteraemia, Corynebacterium bacteraemia and Pseudomonal bacteraemia.
e Terms based on laboratory data.
f Headache includes headache, tension headache and migraine.
g One subject experienced two events (ventricular fibrillation and cardiac arrest).
h Diarrhoea includes diarrhoea and diarrhoea haemorrhagic.
i Abdominal pain includes abdominal pain, abdominal pain upper, abdominal discomfort, abdominal pain lower and gastrointestinal pain.
j Oedema includes oedema peripheral, face oedema, oedema, fluid overload, generalised oedema, peripheral swelling, localised oedema and face swelling.
k Electrocardiogram QT prolonged includes electrocardiogram QT prolonged and electrocardiogram QT interval abnormal.
Description of selected adverse reactions
Cardiac disorders
Quizartinib prolongs the QT interval on ECG. Any grade QT interval prolongation treatment-emergent adverse reactions were reported in 14.0% of VANFLYTA-treated patients and 3.0% of patients experienced reactions of Grade 3 or higher severity. QT prolongation was associated with dose reduction in 10 (3.8%) patients, dose interruption in 7 (2.6%) patients, and discontinuation in 2 (0.8%) patients. QTcF > 500 ms occurred in 2.3% of patients based on central review of ECG data. Two (0.8%) patients treated with VANFLYTA experienced cardiac arrest with recorded ventricular fibrillation, one with a fatal outcome, both in the setting of severe hypokalaemia. Electrocardiograms, monitoring and correction of hypokalaemia and hypomagnesemia should be performed prior to and during treatment with VANFLYTA. For dose modification for patients with QT interval prolongation, see section 4.2.
Other special populations
Elderly
Fatal infections have occurred more frequently with quizartinib in elderly patients (i.e., older than 65 years), compared to younger patients (13% vs. 5.7%), especially in the early treatment period.
Patients older than 65 years of age should be closely monitored for the occurrence of severe infections during induction.
Reporting of suspected adverse reactions
Reporting suspected adverse reactions after authorisation of the medicinal product is important. It allows continued monitoring of the benefit/risk balance of the medicinal product. Healthcare professionals are asked to report any suspected adverse reactions via the Yellow Card Scheme, Website: www.mhra.gov.uk/yellowcard or search for MHRA Yellow Card in the Google Play or Apple App Store.