Tenecteplase versus alteplase for thrombolysis in patients selected by use of perfusion imaging within 4·5 h of onset of ischaemic stroke (TASTE): a multicentre, randomised, controlled, phase 3 non-inferiority trial.

BACKGROUND

Intravenous tenecteplase increases reperfusion in patients with salvageable brain tissue on perfusion imaging and might have advantages over alteplase as a thrombolytic for ischaemic stroke. We aimed to assess the non-inferiority of tenecteplase versus alteplase on clinical outcomes in patients selected by use of perfusion imaging.

METHODS

This international, multicentre, open-label, parallel-group, randomised, clinical non-inferiority trial enrolled patients from 35 hospitals in eight countries. Participants were aged 18 years or older, within 4·5 h of ischaemic stroke onset or last known well, were not being considered for endovascular thrombectomy, and met target mismatch criteria on brain perfusion imaging. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) by use of a centralised web server with randomly permuted blocks to intravenous tenecteplase (0·25 mg/kg) or alteplase (0·90 mg/kg). The primary outcome was the proportion of patients without disability (modified Rankin Scale 0-1) at 3 months, assessed via masked review in both the intention-to-treat and per-protocol populations. We aimed to recruit 832 participants to yield 90% power (one-sided alpha=0·025) to detect a risk difference of 0·08, with an absolute non-inferiority margin of -0·03. The trial was registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12613000243718, and the European Union Clinical Trials Register, EudraCT Number 2015-002657-36, and it is completed.

FINDINGS

Recruitment ceased early following the announcement of other trial results showing non-inferiority of tenecteplase versus alteplase. Between March 21, 2014, and Oct 20, 2023, 680 patients were enrolled and randomly assigned to tenecteplase (n=339) and alteplase (n=341), all of whom were included in the intention-to-treat analysis (multiple imputation was used to account for missing primary outcome data for five patients). Protocol violations occurred in 74 participants, thus the per-protocol population comprised 601 people (295 in the tenecteplase group and 306 in the alteplase group). Participants had a median age of 74 years (IQR 63-82), baseline National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score of 7 (4-11), and 260 (38%) were female. In the intention-to-treat analysis, the primary outcome occurred in 191 (57%) of 335 participants allocated to tenecteplase and 188 (55%) of 340 participants allocated to alteplase (standardised risk difference [SRD]=0·03 [95% CI -0·033 to 0·10], one-tailed p

INTERPRETATION

The findings in our study provide further evidence to strengthen the assertion of the non-inferiority of tenecteplase to alteplase, specifically when perfusion imaging has been used to identify reperfusion-eligible stroke patients. Although non-inferiority was achieved in the per-protocol population, it was not reached in the intention-to-treat analysis, possibly due to sample size limtations. Nonetheless, large-scale implementation of perfusion CT to assist in patient selection for intravenous thrombolysis in the early time window was shown to be feasible.

FUNDING

Australian National Health Medical Research Council; Boehringer Ingelheim.

Informations de copyright

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Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of interests MWP is on a Boehringer-Ingelheim Advisory Board for metalyse in stroke. FCN has received grants from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and the National Heart Foundation of Australia. AM participates on an advisory board for Boehringer Ingelheim and is a World Stroke Organisation board member. HSM reports grants from the British Heart Foundation, the Medical Research Council, the Alzheimer's Society, and the Stroke Association UK, and is the editor-in-chief of the World Stroke Organisation journal, International Journal of Stroke. HM has received speaking fees from the Indonesian Stroke Society and reports travel support for investigator meetings. TGP has received speaking fees from Bayer, Boehringer Ingelheim, Pfizer, and BMS. JFA reports consulting fees from Amgen, Medtronic, and BMS-Pfizer, reports speaking fees from Medtronic and BMS–Pfizer, reports travel support from Daiichi–Sankyo, participates on the advisory board for the WE-TRUST trial, and reports research grants from the Spanish Ministry of Science, the European Commission, and Astra Zeneca. RSG has received travel support from Boehringer Ingelheim. SA has received funding from the UK Stroke Clinical Research Network. KSB is in a spousal relationship with an employee of Boehringer Ingelheim and has received speaking fees from Boehringer Ingelheim and AstraZeneca. All other authors report no disclosures.