Cardiac iron load and function in transfused patients treated with deferasirox (the MILE study)

Objectives To assess the effect of iron chelation therapy with deferasirox on cardiac iron and function in patients with transfusion‐dependent thalassemia major, sickle cell disease ( SCD ), and myelodysplastic syndromes ( MDS ). Methods This phase IV , single‐arm, open‐label study over 53 wk evaluated the change in cardiac and liver iron load with deferasirox (up to 40 mg/kg/d), measured by magnetic resonance imaging ( MRI ). Results Cardiac iron load (myocardial T2*) significantly improved ( P = 0.002) overall ( n = 46; n = 36 thalassemia major, n = 4 SCD , n = 6 MDS ). Results were significant for patients with normal and moderate baseline cardiac iron ( P = 0.017 and P = 0.015, respectively), but not in the five patients with severe cardiac iron load. Liver iron concentration ( LIC ) significantly decreased overall [mean LIC 10.4 to 8.2 mg Fe/g dry tissue (dw); P = 0.024], particularly in those with baseline LIC >7 mg Fe/g dw (19.9 to 15.6 mg Fe/g dw; P = 0.002). Furthermore, myocardial T2* significantly increased in patients with LIC <7 mg Fe/g dw, but not in those with a higher LIC . Safety was consistent with previous reports. Conclusions Once‐daily deferasirox over 1 yr significantly increased myocardial T2* and reduced LIC . This confirms that single‐agent deferasirox is effective in the management of cardiac iron, especially for patients with myocardial T2* >10 ms (Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT 00673608).