Prevention of cystic fibrosis: The beginning of the end?

Standards of care for CFTR variant-specific therapy (including modulators) for people with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) has entered the era of variant-specific therapy, tailored to the genetic variants in the Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator (CFTR) gene. CFTR modulators, the first variant-specific therapy available, have transformed the management of CF. The latest standards of care from the European CF Society (2018) did not include guidance on variant-specific therapy, as CFTR modulators were becoming established as a novel therapy. We have produced interim standards to guide healthcare professionals in the provision of variant-specific therapy for people with CF. Here we provide evidence-based guidance covering the spectrum of care, established using evidence from systematic reviews and expert opinion. Statements were reviewed by key stakeholders using Delphi methodology, with agreement (≥80%) achieved for all statements after one round of consultation. Issues around accessibility are discussed and there is clear consensus that all eligible people with CF should have access to variant-specific therapy.

Rates of adverse and serious adverse events in children with cystic fibrosis

BACKGROUND

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is an autosomal recessive disease characterized by chronic sinopulmonary symptoms and chronic gastrointestinal symptoms that begins in infancy. Children with CF are increasingly being included in clinical trials. In order to fully evaluate the impact of new therapies in future clinical trials, an understanding of baseline adverse event (AE) rates in children with CF is needed. To address this, we determined the rates of common AEs in pediatric patients with CF who participated in two clinical trials.

METHODS

We reviewed AEs for placebo recipients in the AZ0004 study and inhaled tobramycin recipients in the Early Pseudomonas Infection Control (EPIC) clinical trial. AEs were categorized based on Medical Dictionary for Regulatory Activities (MedDRA) coding classifications and pooled into common, batched AE descriptors. AE rates were estimated from negative binomial models according to age groups, severity of lung disease, and season.

RESULTS

A total of 433 children had 8,266 total AEs reported, or 18.1 (95% CI 17.0, 19.2) AEs per person per year. Respiratory AEs were the most commonly reported AEs, with a rate of 7.6 events per person-year. The total SAE rate was 0.33 per person per-year. Cough was the most commonly reported respiratory AE, with 61% of subjects reporting at least one episode of cough within 4 months. The rate ratio of any AE was higher in Spring, Fall, and Winter, compared with Summer.

CONCLUSIONS

AEs occur commonly in pediatric CF clinical trial participants. Season of enrollment could affect AE rates.

Early Diagnosis and Intervention in Cystic Fibrosis: Imagining the Unimaginable

Cystic fibrosis is the most common life-shortening genetic disease affecting Caucasians, clinically manifested by fat malabsorption, poor growth and nutrition, and recurrent sinopulmonary infections. Newborn screening programs for cystic fibrosis are now implemented throughout the United States and in many nations worldwide. Early diagnosis and interventions have led to improved clinical outcomes for people with cystic fibrosis. Newer cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator potentiators and correctors with mutation-specific effects have increasingly been used in children, and these agents are revolutionizing care. Indeed, it is possible that highly effective modulator therapy used early in life could profoundly affect the trajectory of cystic fibrosis lung disease, and primary prevention may be achievable.