Skip to content

Efficacy and Safety of Tocilizumab for Acute Chest Syndrome Treatment in Patients With Sickle Cell Disease

Efficacy and Safety of Tocilizumab for Acute Chest Syndrome Treatment in Pediatric and Adult Patients With Sickle Cell Disease

Status
Recruiting
Phases
Phase 3
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT06818266
Acronym
TOCIACS
Enrollment
130
Registered
2025-02-10
Start date
2025-08-27
Completion date
2027-07-01
Last updated
2026-06-24

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Acute Chest Syndrome, Sickle Cell Disease

Keywords

Sickle cell disease, Acute chest syndrome, Tocilizumab

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine whether a single infusion of tocilizumab is effective in reducing the time to successful weaning from both supplemental oxygen and any respiratory support, in pediatric and adult patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) during acute chest syndrome (ACS).

Detailed description

SCD is a severe hemoglobinopathy, considered the first monogenic disease in the world. ACS, one of the most frequent and serious complications of SCD, is the first cause of hospitalization and mortality of SCD patients in intensive care unit. However, its pathophysiology has long been poorly understood and therapeutic options are limited. A major increase has been recently reported in the level of interleukin-6 (IL-6), unlike other main pro-inflammatory cytokines, in the sputum (or bronchoalveolar fluid) from SCD children during ACS, positively correlated with the severity of ACS. Also, the observations of a very rapidly favorable outcome after administration of tocilizumab (anti-human IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody) in SCD patients hospitalized for ACS with or without SARS-CoV-2 infection, suggest that tocilizumab may be a key therapy for ACS.

Interventions

DRUGTocilizumab (RoActemra®, 20 mg/mL).

One single intravenous infusion at 8 mg/kg (up to a maximum of 800 mg) for patients ≥ 30 kg and 12 mg/kg for patients \< 30 kg

One single intravenous infusion

Sponsors

Assistance Publique - Hôpitaux de Paris
Lead SponsorOTHER
URC-CIC Paris Descartes Necker Cochin
CollaboratorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
QUADRUPLE (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
2 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

1. SCD patient of all genotypes (SS, SC, S/β0 and S/β+ or other major SCD syndrome) 2. Age ≥ 2 years old 3. Hospitalized for ACS, defined by the WHO as the association of fever and/or acute respiratory symptoms with a new pulmonary infiltrate on chest imaging, (X-ray, lung ultrasound, or CT scan) 4. Requiring supplemental oxygen ≥ 2 L/min for SpO2 ≥ 95% or non-invasive respiratory support (high flow nasal oxygen or continuous positive airway pressure or bilevel non-invasive ventilation) or invasive mechanical ventilation or ECMO, for less than 48 hours 5. Negative pregnancy test for girls or women of childbearing age 6. Freely given, informed and written consent of patient or legal representatives 7. Affiliation to the social security (or health insurance) 8. Effective contraception up to 3 months after the administration of treatment (tocilizumab or placebo)

Exclusion criteria

1. Impossibility to perform tocilizumab/placebo injection within the first 48 hours of supplemental oxygen ≥2L/min for SpO2≥95% and/or respiratory support (as defined in inclusion criteria n°4). If exchange transfusion is indicated at inclusion, it has to be performed before the injection of tocilizumab/placebo. 2. Known hypersensitivity to tocilizumab or its excipients 3. Known active current severe bacterial, viral, fungal, mycobacterial, or other infections (including but not limited to tuberculosis and atypical mycobacterial disease, hepatitis B and C, and herpes zoster) 4. Immunization with a live/attenuated vaccine within the last 4 weeks 5. Immunomodulatory therapy, anti-rejection therapy, cell depleting therapies and investigational agents within the last 3 months 6. History of severe allergic or anaphylactic reactions to human, humanized, or murine monoclonal antibodies 7. History of diverticulitis, diverticulosis requiring antibiotic treatment, or chronic ulcerative lower gastrointestinal disease such as Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, or other symptomatic lower gastrointestinal conditions that might predispose a patient to perforations 8. Evidence of malignant disease or malignancies diagnosed within the last 3 years 9. Pregnancy or breastfeeding 10. Imminent and inevitable progression towards death in the opinion of the investigator 11. Absolute neutrophil count \< 1.0 G/L or platelets \< 50 G/L 12. ALT or AST \> 5-fold the upper limit of normal 13. Glomerular Filtration rate (GFR) \< 60 mL/min/1,73 m² 14. Current enrolment in another interventional research concerning a medicinal product for human use

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Time to successful weaning from both supplemental oxygen and any respiratory supportDuring hospitalization for ACS, from randomization until day 28 after randomizationSuccessful weaning from both supplemental oxygen and any respiratory support, defined as SpO2 ≥ 95% without oxygen during the next 24 hours, and spontaneous breathing without any respiratory support (non-invasive or invasive) during the next 48 hours

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Adverse events during hospitalization and within 3 months following tocilizumab or placebo injectionWithin 3 months after randomizationSevere and not severe adverse events (including hypertension, hypersensitivity reactions, hypokalemia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia, infections, pulmonary embolism/thrombosis, hepatic cytolysis, organ failure)
Time to dischargeFrom the date of randomization until the date of end of hospitalization, assessed up to 3 monthsLength of hospital stay
MortalityWithin 3 months after randomizationMortality
Need for transfusionFrom the date of randomization until the date of end of hospitalization, assessed up to 3 monthsNeed for red blood cell transfusion
Total number of red blood cell units receivedFrom the date of randomization until the date of end of hospitalization, assessed up to 3 monthsTotal number of red blood cell units received
Need for non-invasive ventilation (for patients without ventilatory support at inclusion)From the date of randomization until the date of end of hospitalization, assessed up to 3 monthsNeed for non-invasive ventilation (high flow nasal oxygen, continuous positive airway pressure, or bilevel non-invasive ventilation), for patients without ventilatory support at inclusion
Need for invasive ventilation (for patients without invasive ventilation at inclusion)From the date of randomization until the date of end of hospitalization, assessed up to 3 monthsNeed for invasive ventilation, for patients without invasive ventilation at inclusion
Readmission for vaso-occlusive crisis or ACS within 3 months following tocilizumab or placebo injectionWithin 3 months after randomizationReadmission for vaso-occlusive crisis or ACS within 3 months following tocilizumab or placebo injection
C-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), plasma and sputum IL-6 levels 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionC-reactive protein (CRP), procalcitonin (PCT), plasma and sputum IL-6 levels 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection
Procalcitonin (PCT) level 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionProcalcitonin (PCT) level 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection
Plasma IL-6 level 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionPlasma IL-6 level 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection
Sputum IL-6 level 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionSputum IL-6 level 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection
Chest imaging improvement 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionImprovement of chest imaging (chest X-ray or lung ultrasound) will be assessed by an investigator, who will have to choose between 3 possible answers: worsening, stability or improvement of ACS images.
Tocilizumab level in the plasma 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionTocilizumab level in the plasma 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection
Tocilizumab level in the sputum (or in the tracheal aspirations in case of invasive mechanical ventilation) 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injectionTocilizumab level in the sputum (or in the tracheal aspirations in case of invasive mechanical ventilation) 48 (+/- 12) hours after tocilizumab or placebo injection

Countries

France

Contacts

CONTACTSlimane ALLALI, MD, PhD
slimane.allali@aphp.fr01 44 49 48 96
CONTACTAminata TRAORE, Project advisor
aminata.traore@aphp.fr
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORSlimane ALLALI, MD, PhD

Department of General Pediatrics and Sickle Cell Center, Necker-Enfants malades Hospital, Paris, France

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Jun 25, 2026