Caplacizumab treatment in elderly patients with iTTP: Experience from the Spanish TTP Registry

Abstract

Immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (iTTP) typically affects middle-aged individuals, although it sometimes appears in older patients. Caplacizumab is approved for the treatment of iTTP, but information on the safety and efficacy of this drug in elderly patients is not available. We aimed to analyze the management and outcomes of iTTP patients registered in the Spanish TTP Registry and receiving caplacizumab at any time during the acute episode, focusing on patients ≥60 years (n = 29) and comparing them with patients <60 years (n = 70). Severe bleeding motivated caplacizumab's initiation delay in one patient ≥60 years. Patients receiving anticoagulation or antiplatelet therapy at diagnosis were more common in older patients (10% vs. 1%; p = 0.074), as well as the occurrence of bleeding motivating caplacizumab discontinuation (17% vs. 1%, respectively; p = 0.008). Caplacizumab seemed to be efficient in the treatment of iTTP in older patients, reducing refractoriness and death to 3% and exacerbation to 10%, similar to younger patients. The higher risk of bleeding in this older population warrants the need for close monitoring during treatment and to further explore the best management of thrombotic and bleeding risk.