Cited by 527Endometriosis Research and TreatmentMenstrual Health and DisordersEctopic Pregnancy Diagnosis and Management

Treatment of Endometriosis-Associated Pain with Elagolix, an Oral GnRH Antagonist

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Taylor, Hugh S., Giudice, Linda C., Lessey, Bruce A., Abrao, Mauricio S., Kotarski, Jan, Archer, David F., Diamond, Michael P., Surrey, Eric +14 more·2017·New England Journal of Medicine

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Endometriosis is a chronic, estrogen-dependent condition that causes dysmenorrhea and pelvic pain. Elagolix, an oral, nonpeptide, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) antagonist, produced partial to nearly full estrogen suppression in previous studies. METHODS: We performed two similar, double-blind, randomized, 6-month phase 3 trials (Elaris Endometriosis I and II [EM-I and EM-II]) to evaluate the effects of two doses of elagolix - 150 mg once daily (lower-dose group) and 200 mg twice daily (higher-dose group) - as compared with placebo in women with surgically diagnosed endometriosis and moderate or severe endometriosis-associated pain. The two primary efficacy end points were the proportion of women who had a clinical response with respect to dysmenorrhea and the proportion who had a clinical response with respect to nonmenstrual pelvic pain at 3 months. Each of these end points was measured as a clinically meaningful reduction in the pain score and a decreased or stable use of rescue analgesic agents, as recorded in a daily electronic diary. RESULTS: A total of 872 women underwent randomization in Elaris EM-I and 817 in Elaris EM-II; of these women, 653 (74.9%) and 632 (77.4%), respectively, completed the intervention. At 3 months, a significantly greater proportion of women who received each elagolix dose met the clinical response criteria for the two primary end points than did those who received placebo. In Elaris EM-I, the percentage of women who had a clinical response with respect to dysmenorrhea was 46.4% in the lower-dose elagolix group and 75.8% in the higher-dose elagolix group, as compared with 19.6% in the placebo group; in Elaris EM-II, the corresponding percentages were 43.4% and 72.4%, as compared with 22.7% (P<0.001 for all comparisons). In Elaris EM-I, the percentage of women who had a clinical response with respect to nonmenstrual pelvic pain was 50.4% in the lower-dose elagolix group and 54.5% in the higher-dose elagolix group, as compared with 36.5% in the placebo group (P<0.001 for all comparisons); in Elaris EM-II, the corresponding percentages were 49.8% and 57.8%, as compared with 36.5% (P=0.003 and P<0.001, respectively). The responses with respect to dysmenorrhea and nonmenstrual pelvic pain were sustained at 6 months. Women who received elagolix had higher rates of hot flushes (mostly mild or moderate), higher levels of serum lipids, and greater decreases from baseline in bone mineral density than did those who received placebo; there were no adverse endometrial findings. CONCLUSIONS: Both higher and lower doses of elagolix were effective in improving dysmenorrhea and nonmenstrual pelvic pain during a 6-month period in women with endometriosis-associated pain. The two doses of elagolix were associated with hypoestrogenic adverse effects. (Funded by AbbVie; Elaris EM-I and EM-II ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT01620528 and NCT01931670 .).

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  • In two phase 3 trials, during 6 months treatment, elagolix dramatically reduced dysmenorrhea and non-menstrual pelvic discomfort.

    “In both trials, during the 6 months treatment, elagolix dramatically reduced dysmenorrhea and non-menstrual pelvic discomfort.”
  • In a study of about 1700 women with moderate or severe endometriosis pain, elagolix at 150 mg once daily or 200 mg twice daily significantly reduced pelvic pain and sex-related pain.

    “The results of a study in which about 1700 women with moderate or severe pain in endometriosis participated played a part in the above decision. Doses of this drug—150 mg once a day or 200 mg twice a day—significantly reduced the most common types of endometrial pain: pelvic pain and sex-related pain.”
  • Elagolix is approved by the FDA for treatment of moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis.

    “The latest drug to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is elagolix, a drug for the treatment of moderate to severe pain associated with endometriosis [117].”
  • An oral GnRH antagonist (elagolix) was reported to be effective for reducing endometriosis-related symptoms.

    “Recently, an oral GnRH antagonist (elagolix) was reported to be effective for reducing endometriosis‐related symptoms.”

    From Extra-pelvic endometriosis: a review. (2020) · cites this paper as [97]

  • In Elaris EM-II, the percentages of women with improvement in non-menstrual pelvic pain were 49.8% with elagolix 150 mg once daily and 57.8% with elagolix 200 mg twice daily, compared with 36.5% in the placebo group.

    “In Elaris EM-II, corresponding percentages were 49.8% and 57.8% (compared with 36.5% in the placebo group).”

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [3]3. Johnson NP, Hummelshoj L. Consen- sus on current management of endome- triosis. Hum Reprod 2013; 28: 1552-68.
  2. [11]11. Reis FM, Petraglia F, Taylor RN. Endo- metriosis: hormone regulation and clini- cal consequences of chemotaxis and apop- tosis. Hum Reprod Update 2013; 19: 406-18.
  3. [14]14. Barbieri RL. Hormone treatment of endometriosis: the estrogen threshold hy- pothesis. Am J Obstet Gynecol 1992; 166: 740-5.
  4. [17]17. Dragoman MV, Gaffield ME. The safety of subcutaneously administered depot me- droxyprogesterone acetate (104mg/0.65mL): A systematic review. Contraception 2016; 94: 202-15.

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Authors
Taylor, H. S., Giudice, L. C., Lessey, B. A., Abrao, M. S., Kotarski, J., Archer, D. F., Diamond, M. P., Surrey, E., Johnson, N. P., Watts, N. B., Gallagher, J. C., Simon, J. A., Carr, B. R., Dmowski, W. P., Leyland, N., Rowan, J. P., Duan, W. R., Ng, J., Schwefel, B., Thomas, J. W., Jain, R. I., & Chwalisz, K.
Affiliations
Creighton University (US)
Venue
New England Journal of Medicine
Published
2017-07-06
Volume
377
Issue
1
Pages
28-40
ISSN
  • 0028-4793 (ISSN-L)
  • 1533-4406
OpenAlex
W2616333165
Cited by
511
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 53 · 2025: 56 · 2024: 62 · 2023: 53 · 2022: 42 · 2021: 67 · 2020: 74 · 2019: 45 · 2018: 40 · 2017: 18
FWCI
56.56
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • New England Journal of Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
  • Creighton Digital Repository (CDR) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Reproductive Medicine › Endometriosis Research and Treatment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Menstrual Health and Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ectopic Pregnancy Diagnosis and Management
Keywords
endometriosis, elagolix, GnRH antagonist, dysmenorrhea, estrogen suppression, rescue analgesic consumption, pain management, dose comparison, chronic pelvic pain
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adult, Dose-Response Relationship, Drug, Double-Blind Method, Dysmenorrhea, Endometriosis, Estrogen Antagonists, Female, Humans, Hydrocarbons, Fluorinated, Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone, Lipids, Middle Aged, Pyrimidines, Bone Density, Premenopause, Pelvic Pain, Hot Flashes, Young Adult

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