Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease, Nonrelapse Mortality, and Disease Relapse in Older versus Younger Adults Undergoing Matched Allogeneic Peripheral Blood Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation: A Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research Analysis

A Multicenter Phase II Trial of Ruxolitinib for Treatment of Corticosteroid Refractory Sclerotic Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease

PURPOSE

Sclerotic chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) represents a highly morbid and refractory form of cGVHD, and novel therapies for sclerotic cGVHD are critically needed. This study aimed to determine the efficacy of ruxolitinib in patients with corticosteroid refractory sclerotic cGVHD.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

In a single-arm multicenter phase II trial (N = 47), adults with sclerotic cGVHD refractory to corticosteroids and ≥one additional line of systemic therapy for cGVHD received ruxolitinib for ≥six months (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT03616184). The primary end point was complete or partial response (PR) in skin and/or joint defined according to the 2014 National Institute of Health cGVHD Consensus Criteria.

RESULTS

Following the use of ruxolitinib for a median of 11 months, PR in skin and/or joints was noted in 49% (95% CI, 34 to 64) at 6 months, with 45% having joint and fascia response and 19% having skin response. The duration of skin/joint response was 77% (95% CI, 48 to 91) at 12 months. Overall cGVHD PR was noted in 47% (95% CI, 32 to 61). Improvement in Lee Symptom Scale summary and skin subscale scores was noted in 38% of patients. With a cumulative incidence of treatment failure of 20.8% (95% CI, 10.0 to 34.1), nonrelapse mortality (NRM) of 2.2% (95% CI, 0.17 to 10.3), and no recurrent malignancy, failure-free survival (FFS) was 77.1% (95% CI, 61.3 to 87.0) at 12 months. Ruxolitinib was overall well tolerated with no new safety signals.

CONCLUSION

The use of ruxolitinib was associated with relatively high rates of skin/joint responses and overall cGVHD responses, improvement in patient-reported outcomes, low NRM, and high FFS in patients with refractory sclerotic cGVHD. Ruxolitinib offers an effective treatment option for refractory sclerotic cGVHD.

International recommendations for screening and preventative practices for long-term survivors of transplantation and cellular therapy: a 2023 update

As hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) and cellular therapy expand to new indications and international access improves, the volume of HCT performed annually continues to rise. Parallel improvements in HCT techniques and supportive care entails more patients surviving long-term, creating further emphasis on survivorship needs. Survivors are at risk for developing late complications secondary to pre-, peri- and post-transplant exposures and other underlying risk-factors. Guidelines for screening and preventive practices for HCT survivors were originally published in 2006 and updated in 2012. To review contemporary literature and update the recommendations while considering the changing practice of HCT and cellular therapy, an international group of experts was again convened. This review provides updated pediatric and adult survivorship guidelines for HCT and cellular therapy. The contributory role of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) to the development of late effects is discussed but cGVHD management is not covered in detail. These guidelines emphasize special needs of patients with distinct underlying HCT indications or comorbidities (e.g., hemoglobinopathies, older adults) but do not replace more detailed group, disease, or condition specific guidelines. Although these recommendations should be applicable to the vast majority of HCT recipients, resource constraints may limit their implementation in some settings.

Oral complications in a paediatric graft versus host disease (GVHD) clinic: A retrospective study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to investigate the oral health status among allogeneic transplant recipients who were seen in a multidisciplinary graft-versus-host disease paediatric clinic at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).

METHODS

This was a retrospective cohort study of patients who underwent allogeneic transplants and were seen in the graft-versus-host disease paediatric clinic between January 2010 and September 2021. Demographic, medical and oral health data were recorded and analysed using descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

A total of 25 patients were seen in the paediatric graft-versus-host disease clinic (68% males) with a median age of 12 years at the time of transplant were included. Among them, 12 patients (48%) were diagnosed with oral chronic GVHD, 11 (44%) with dry mouth, four (16%) with oral pseudomembranous candidiasis, one (4%) with recrudescent Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) infection and one (4%) with mammalian target of rapamycin-inhibitor stomatitis and were managed by the oral medicine team, accordingly with medications, such as topical steroids (44%) and anti-fungal (20%).

CONCLUSIONS

HSCT recipients may present with a variety of oral complications. Patients may benefit by a multi-disciplinary approach including a dental specialist as part of the cancer care team.

A phase II study of belumosudil for chronic graft-versus-host disease in patients who failed at least one line of systemic therapy in China

BACKGROUND

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is an immune-related disorder that is the most common complication post-allogenic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Corticosteroids with or without calcineurin inhibitors (CNIs) remain the mainstay of cGVHD treatment for first-line therapy. However, for many patients, cGVHD symptoms cannot be effectively managed and thus require second-line therapy. Currently, there is no approved treatment for second-line cGVHD treatment in China. In this study, belumosudil, a highly selective and potent rho-associated coiled-coil-containing protein kinase-2 inhibitor demonstrated to be effective for cGVHD in the United States and other Western countries, is investigated in patients with cGVHD in China for its overall benefit-risk balance.

METHODS

This multicenter, open-label phase II study evaluated the safety, efficacy, and pharmacokinetics of oral belumosudil 200 mg once daily in cGVHD patients who had been treated with at least one line of systemic therapy in China. The primary endpoint was overall response rate (ORR); each individual patient's response was assessed by the investigator using the 2014 National Institutes of Health consensus criteria. Secondary endpoints were duration of response (DOR), time to response (TTR), changes in Lee Symptom Scale (LSS) score, organ response rate, corticosteroid dose change, CNI dose change, failure-free survival, time-to-next-treatment, overall survival, and safety.

RESULTS

Thirty patients were enrolled in the study with a median follow-up time of 12.9 months. ORR was 73.3% (95% confidence interval: 54.1-87.7%) and all responders achieved partial response. Median DOR among responders was not reached and median TTR was 4.3 weeks (range: 3.9-48.1). Fifteen patients (50.0%) achieved clinically meaningful response in terms of reduction in LSS score by ≥ 7 points from baseline. Corticosteroid and CNI dose reductions were reported in 56.7% (17/30) and 35.0% (7/20) of patients, respectively. Most treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were mild to moderate in severity, with 11 patients (36.7%) experiencing grade ≥ 3 TEAEs. The most common grade ≥ 3 TEAE was pneumonia (n = 5, 16.7%).

CONCLUSIONS

Belumosudil treatment demonstrated a favorable benefit-risk balance in treating cGVHD patients who previously have had standard corticosteroid therapy in China where approved second-line setting is absent.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04930562.

ECP versus ruxolitinib in steroid-refractory chronic GVHD - a retrospective study by the EBMT transplant complications working party

Ruxolitinib has become the new standard of care for steroid-refractory and steroid-dependent chronic GVHD (SR-cGVHD). Our aim was to collect comparative data between ruxolitinib and extracorporeal photophoresis (ECP). We asked EBMT centers if they were willing to provide detailed information on GVHD grading, -therapy, -dosing, -response and complications for each included patient. 31 centers responded positively and we included all patients between 1/2017-7/2019 treated with ECP or ruxolitinib for moderate or severe SR-cGVHD. We identified 84 and 57 patients with ECP and ruxolitinib, respectively. We performed multivariate analyses adjusted on grading and type of SR-cGVHD (steroid dependent vs. refractory vs. intolerant to steroids). At day+180 after initiation of treatment for SR-cGVHD the odds ratio in the ruxolitinib group to achieve overall response vs. the ECP group was 1.35 (95% CI = [0.64; 2.91], p = 0.43). In line, we detected no statistically significant differences in overall survival, progression-free survival, non-relapse mortality and relapse incidence. The clinical significance is limited by the retrospective study design and the current data can't replace prospective studies on ECP in SR-cGVHD. However, the present results contribute to the accumulating evidence on ECP as an effective treatment option in SR-cGVHD.

Analysis of risk factors for fatal renal complications after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation

Various complications can influence hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) outcomes. Renal complications can occur during the early to late phases of HCT along with various factors. However, studies focusing on fatal renal complications (FRCs) are scarce. Herein, we analyzed 36,596 first allogeneic HCT recipients retrospectively. Overall, 782 patients died of FRCs at a median of 108 (range, 0-3,440) days after HCT. The cumulative incidence of FRCs was 1.7% and 2.2% at one and five years, respectively. FRCs were associated with older age, male sex, non-complete remission (non-CR), lower performance status (PS), and HCT comorbidity index (HCT-CI) associated with renal comorbidity in multivariate analysis. The risk factors within 100 days included older age, multiple myeloma, PS, and HCT-CI comorbidities (psychiatric disturbance, hepatic disease, obesity, and renal disease). Older age and male sex were risk factors between 100 days and one year. After one year, HCT-CI was associated with the presence of diabetes and prior solid tumor; total body irradiation was identified as a risk factor. Non-CR was a common risk factor in all three phases. Furthermore, acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease, reactivation of cytomegalovirus, and relapse of underlying disease also affected FRCs. Systematic follow-up may be necessary based on the patients' risk factors and post-HCT events.

Group Coping Intervention in Patients With Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease: A Pilot Randomized Clinical Trial

BACKGROUND

More than half the long-term survivors of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation develop chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a debilitating inflammatory syndrome. Supportive interventions to assist survivors in coping with chronic GVHD are critically needed.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We conducted a pilot randomized clinical trial of a multidisciplinary group intervention (Horizons Program; n=39) versus minimally enhanced usual care (n=41) for patients with moderate or severe chronic GVHD. Horizons participants received 8 weekly sessions about GVHD and coping co-led by a transplant clinician and a behavioral health expert via a secure videoconferencing platform. Participants completed the following surveys before randomization, at 10 weeks, and at 18 weeks: Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant Scale (FACT-BMT) for quality of life (QoL), Lee Symptom Scale for symptom burden, and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression Symptoms (HADS) for mood. The primary endpoint was feasibility (≥50% enrollment, ≥80% attendance in half the sessions for the Horizons arm only, and ≥80% retention). We also explored preliminary efficacy of the Horizons intervention on changes in patient-reported outcomes with linear mixed effects models and estimates of effect size at 10 weeks.

RESULTS

We enrolled and registered 80 (67.2%) of 119 eligible patients (mean age, 62 years; 48.8% female). Of the participants in the Horizons Program, 84.6% attended at least half the sessions. Of registered participants, 91.3% completed assessment follow-ups (Horizons, 35/39 [89.7%]; minimally enhanced usual care, 38/41 [92.7%]). Horizons participants reported improvements in QoL (b = 2.24; d=0.53), anxiety symptoms (b = -0.10; d=0.34), and depression symptoms (b = -0.71; d=0.44) compared with participants who received minimally enhanced usual care.

CONCLUSIONS

Participation in a multidisciplinary group intervention study was feasible for patients with chronic GVHD, with promising signals for improving QoL and mood. A full-scale efficacy trial is needed to confirm effects on patient-reported outcomes.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease. Part I: Epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical manifestations

Chronic graft-versus-host disease is a major complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation and a leading cause of long-term morbidity, nonrelapse mortality, and impaired health-related quality of life. The skin is commonly affected and presents heterogeneously, making the role of dermatologists critical in both diagnosis and treatment. In addition, new clinical classification and grading schemes inform treatment algorithms, which now include 3 U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved therapies, and evolving transplant techniques are changing disease epidemiology. Part I reviews the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, and diagnosis of chronic graft-versus-host disease. Part II discusses disease grading and therapeutic management.

Low incidence of severe acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease in a long-term retrospective study with ATG Grafalon routine use

Since 2006, combined graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis with ATG Grafalon has been our department's base of peri-transplant supportive care. This recent retrospective study included 398 patients who underwent their first allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation after receiving a defined dose of ATG Grafalon. Our observations recorded reduced incidence of severe acute and chronic GVHD without negative impact on overall survival in a nonselected group with standard and uniform GVHD prophylaxis.

Low-dose anti-thymocyte globulin plus low-dose post-transplant cyclophosphamide-based regimen for prevention of graft-versus-host disease after haploidentical peripheral blood stem cell transplants: a large sample, long-term follow-up retrospective study

Introduction

The novel low-dose anti-thymocyte (ATG, 5 mg/kg) plus low-dose post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy, 50 mg/kg) (low-dose ATG/PTCy)-based regimen had promising activity for prevention of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in haploidentical-peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (haplo-PBSCT), but its impacts on long-term outcomes remain to be defined.

Methods

We performed a large sample, long-term follow-up retrospective study to evaluate its efficacy for GVHD prophylaxis.

Results

The study enrolled 260 patients, including 162 with myeloid malignancies and 98 with lymphoid malignancies. The median follow-up time was 27.0 months. For the entire cohort, the cumulative incidences (CIs) of grade II-IV and III-IV acute GVHD (aGVHD) by 180 days were 13.46% (95% CI, 9.64%-17.92%) and 5.77% (95% CI, 3.37%-9.07%); while total and moderate/severe chronic GVHD (cGVHD) by 2 years were 30.97% (95% CI, 25.43%-36.66%) and 18.08% (95% CI, 13.68%-22.98%), respectively. The 2-year overall survival (OS), relapse-free survival (RFS), GVHD-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS), non-relapse mortality (NRM), and CIs of relapse were 60.7% (95% CI, 54.8%-67.10%), 58.1% (95% CI, 52.2%-64.5%), 50.6% (95% CI, 44.8-57.1%), 23.04% (95% CI, 18.06%-28.40%), and 18.09% (95% CI, 14.33%-23.97%, respectively. The 1-year CIs of cytomegalovirus (CMV) and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) reactivation were 43.46% (95% CI, 37.39%-49.37%) and 18.08% (95% CI, 13.68%-22.98%), respectively. In multivariate analysis, the disease status at transplantation was associated with inferior survivor outcomes for all patients and myeloid and lymphoid malignancies, while cGVHD had superior outcomes for all patients and myeloid malignancies, but not for lymphoid malignancies.

Discussion

The results demonstrated that the novel regimen could effectively prevent the occurrence of aGVHD in haplo-PBSCT.

Novel therapies for graft versus host disease with a focus on cell therapies

Graft versus host disease (GVHD) can occur at any period post allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation as a common clinical complication contributing to significant morbidity and mortality. Acute GVHD develops in approximately 30-50% of patients receiving transplants from matched related donors. High doses of steroids are used as first-line treatment, but are unsuccessful in around 40% of patients, resulting in the diagnosis of steroid-refractory acute GVHD. Consensus has yet to develop for the management of steroid-refractory acute GVHD, and prognosis at six months has been estimated at around 50%. Thus, it is critical to find effective treatments that increase survival of steroid-refractory acute GVHD. This article describes the currently known characteristics, pathophysiology, and treatments for GVHD, with a special focus on recent advances in cell therapies. In particular, a novel cell therapy using decidua stromal cells (DSCs) was recently shown to have promising results for acute GVHD, with improved effectiveness over previous treatments including mesenchymal stromal cells. At the Karolinska Institute, severe acute GVHD patients treated with placenta-derived DSCs supplemented with either 5% albumin or 10% AB plasma displayed a one-year survival rate of 76% and 47% respectively. Furthermore, patients with steroid-refractory acute GVHD, displayed survival rates of 73% with albumin and 31% with AB plasma-supplemented DSCs, compared to the 20% survival rate in the mesenchymal stromal cell control group. Adverse events and deaths were found to be attributed only to complications of hematopoietic stem cell transplant and GVHD, not to the study intervention. ASC Therapeutics, Inc, in collaboration with the Karolinska Institute, will soon initiate a phase 2 multicenter, open-label study to further assess the efficacy and safety of intravenous DSC treatment in sixty patients with Grade II-IV steroid-refractory acute GVHD. This novel cell therapy represents a promising treatment to combat the poor prognosis that steroid-refractory acute GVHD patients currently face.

Bacterial Pathogens Causing Pneumonia Post Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant: The Chronic GVHD Population

Allogeneic stem cell transplantation is a lifesaving treatment for many malignancies. Post-transplant patients may suffer from graft versus host disease in the acute and/or the chronic form(s). Post-transplantation immune deficiency due to a variety of factors is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. Furthermore, immunosuppression can lead to alterations in host factors that predisposes these patients to infections. Although patients who receive stem cell transplant are at an increased risk of opportunistic pathogens, which include fungi and viruses, bacterial infections remain the most common cause of morbidity. Here, we review bacterial pathogens that lead to pneumonias specifically in the chronic GVHD population.

How I prevent GVHD in high-risk patients: posttransplant cyclophosphamide and beyond

Advances in conditioning, graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis and antimicrobial prophylaxis have improved the safety of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), leading to a substantial increase in the number of patients transplanted each year. This influx of patients along with progress in remission-inducing and posttransplant maintenance strategies for hematologic malignancies has led to new GVHD risk factors and high-risk groups: HLA-mismatched related (haplo) and unrelated (MMUD) donors; older recipient age; posttransplant maintenance; prior checkpoint inhibitor and autologous HCT exposure; and patients with benign hematologic disorders. Along with the changing transplant population, the field of HCT has dramatically shifted in the past decade because of the widespread adoption of posttransplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy), which has increased the use of HLA-mismatched related donors to levels comparable to HLA-matched related donors. Its success has led investigators to explore PTCy's utility for HLA-matched HCT, where we predict it will be embraced as well. Additionally, combinations of promising new agents for GVHD prophylaxis such as abatacept and JAK inhibitors with PTCy inspire hope for an even safer transplant platform. Using 3 illustrative cases, we review our current approach to transplantation of patients at high risk of GVHD using our modern armamentarium.

ATG in HLA-Matched, Peripheral Blood, Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Acute Myeloid Leukemia and Myelodysplastic Syndrome: A Secondary Analysis of a CIBMTR Database

w?>Peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) are the preferred grafts for hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), according to the CIBMTR. Donor recovery is faster with PBSC harvest, but PBSC is associated with higher chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and poorer quality of life. Anti-T-cell globulin (ATG) is polyclonal IgG from rabbits or horses immunized with human thymocytes or a human T-cell line, which may reduce GVHD in HCT and improve outcomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of ATG in HLA-matched related (MRD) and matched (HLA 8/8) unrelated donor (MUD) HCT. We used a freely available CIBMTR database published online for secondary analyses. The database included patients ≥ 40 years old who have undergone their first PBSC MRD or MUD HCT for acute myeloid leukemia or myelodysplastic syndrome with or without ATG between 2008 and 2017. Patients who received posttransplant cyclophosphamide or alemtuzumab were excluded. Overall survival was not different with ATG (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.09; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.00-1.19; P = .06) compared with no ATG. Relapse rate was higher with ATG (HR = 1.29; 95% CI, 1.17-1.43; P < .001) and non-relapse mortality was lower with ATG (HR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.72-0.98; P = .03). Grades II-IV acute GVHD was significantly lower with ATG (HR = 0.77; 95% CI, 0.69-0.87; P < .001) but not grades III-IV acute GVHD (HR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.69-1.04; P = .11). Both chronic GVHD (HR = 0.54; 95% CI, 0.48-0.60; P < .001) and moderate/severe chronic GVHD (HR = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.38-0.52; P < .001) were lower with ATG. There was an interaction between ATG and conditioning regimen for relapse rate and overall survival. Relapse rate was higher in those who received reduced-intensity (RIC) or non-myeloablative (NMA) conditioning regimens and ATG, compared with MAC ± ATG or RIC without ATG (interaction test, P = .003). Overall survival was also poorer with ATG and RIC or NMA conditioning regimens (interaction test, P = .03). Our results show that ATG can mitigate the more severe forms of chronic GVHD without impairing overall survival in HLA-matched HCT with PBSC grafts and myeloablative conditioning regimen. ATG should be standard in this population. © 2023 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.