Long-term extracorporeal photochemotherapy in a pediatric patient with refractory sclerodermatous chronic graft-versus-host disease

Cutaneous Manifestations of Scleroderma and Scleroderma-Like Disorders: a Comprehensive Review

Scleroderma refers to an autoimmune connective tissue fibrosing disease, including three different subsets: localized scleroderma, limited cutaneous systemic sclerosis, and diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis with divergent patterns of organ involvement, autoantibody profiles, management, and prognostic implications. Although systemic sclerosis is considered the disease prototype that causes cutaneous sclerosis, there are many other conditions that can mimic and be confused with SSc. They can be classified into immune-mediated/inflammatory, immune-mediated/inflammatory with abnormal deposit (mucinoses), genetic, drug-induced and toxic, metabolic, panniculitis/vascular, and (para)neoplastic disorders according to clinico-pathological and pathogenetic correlations. This article reviews the clinical presentation with emphasis on cutaneous disease, etiopathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment options available for the different forms of scleroderma firstly and for scleroderma-like disorders, including scleromyxedema, scleredema, nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, eosinophilic fasciitis, chronic graft-versus-host disease, porphyria cutanea tarda, diabetic stiff-hand syndrome (diabetic cheiroartropathy), and other minor forms. This latter group of conditions, termed also scleroderma mimics, sclerodermiform diseases, or pseudosclerodermas, shares the common thread of skin thickening but presents with distinct cutaneous manifestations, skin histology, and systemic implications or disease associations, differentiating each entity from the others and from scleroderma. The lack of Raynaud's phenomenon, capillaroscopic abnormalities, or scleroderma-specific autoantibodies is also important diagnostic clues. As cutaneous involvement is the earliest, most frequent and characteristic manifestation of scleroderma and sclerodermoid disorders, dermatologists are often the first-line doctors who must be able to promptly recognize skin symptoms to provide the affected patient a correct diagnosis and appropriate management.

A pediatric case of squamous cell cancer in situ in the setting of sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease and voriconazole treatment

Sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease is a subtype of cutaneous chronic graft-versus-host disease that is characterized by sclerosis of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, resulting in debilitating contractures, among other life-threatening complications. Children with sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease are at high risk of developing nonmelanoma skin cancer because of several risk factors, including young age at transplantation, prolonged immunosuppression, and exposure to photosensitizing antimicrobial prophylaxis such as voriconazole. The immunosuppression required to treat sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease makes effectively treating nonmelanoma skin cancer and sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease in the same patient challenging. We describe a challenging case of a 6-year-old boy with a history of sclerodermatous graft-versus-host disease and voriconazole exposure presenting with squamous cell carcinoma in situ on the left temple and actinic keratoses on the scalp treated with topical chemotherapy agents.

Extracorporeal photopheresis versus alternative treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in paediatric patients

BACKGROUND

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation occurring in 6% to 65% of the recipients. Currently, the therapeutic mainstay for chronic GvHD are corticosteroids that are frequently combined with other immunosuppressive agents in people with steroid-refractory manifestations. There is no established standard treatment for steroid-refractory chronic GvHD. The therapeutic options for these patients include extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), an immunomodulatory treatment that involves ex vivo collection of mononuclear cells from peripheral blood, exposure to the photoactive agent 8-methoxypsoralen, ultraviolet radiation and re-infusion of the processed cell product. The mechanisms of action of ECP are not completely understood. This is an updated version of a Cochrane review first published in 2014.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ECP for the management of chronic GvHD in children and adolescents after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Issue 9, 2015), MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from their inception to 23 September 2015. We searched the reference lists of potentially relevant studies without any language restriction. We searched eight trial registers and five conference proceedings on 29 September 2015.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ECP with or without alternative treatment versus alternative treatment alone in paediatric patients with chronic GvHD after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently performed the study selection. We resolved disagreements in the selection of trials by consultation with a third review author.

MAIN RESULTS

No additional studies were identified in this 2015 review update, in total leading to no studies meeting the criteria for inclusion in this review.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of ECP in the treatment of chronic GvHD in paediatric patients after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation based on RCTs cannot be evaluated since the original version of this review and the first review update found no RCTs. Current recommendations are based on retrospective or observational studies only. Thus, ideally, ECP should be applied in the context of controlled trials only. However, performing RCTs in this patient population will be challenging due to the limited number of patients, the variable disease presentation and the lack of well-defined response criteria. International collaboration, multicentre trials and appropriate funding for such trials will be needed. If treatment decisions based on clinical data are made in favour of ECP, patients should be carefully monitored for beneficial and harmful effects. In addition, efforts should be made to share this information with other clinicians, for example by setting up registries for paediatric patients that are treated with ECP.

Extracorporeal photopheresis versus standard treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in paediatric patients

BACKGROUND

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) occurring in 8% to 59% of the recipients. Currently, the therapeutic mainstay for aGvHD is corticosteroids. However, there is no established standard treatment for steroid-refractory aGvHD. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a type of immunomodulatory method amongst different therapeutic options that involves ex vivo collection of peripheral mononuclear cells, exposure to the photoactive agent 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet-A radiation, and re-infusion of these treated blood cells to the patient. The mechanisms of action of ECP are not completely understood. This is an updated version of a Cochrane review first published in 2014.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ECP for the management of aGvHD in children and adolescents after HSCT.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) (Issue 9, 2015), MEDLINE (PubMed) and EMBASE (Ovid) databases from their inception to 23 September 2015. We searched the reference lists of potentially relevant studies without any language restrictions. We searched eight trial registers and four conference proceedings on 29 September 2015.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ECP with or without standard treatment versus standard treatment alone in paediatric patients with aGvHD after HSCT.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently performed the study selection. We resolved disagreement in the selection of trials by consultation with a third review author.

MAIN RESULTS

We identified no additional studies in the 2015 review update, in total leading to no studies meeting the criteria for inclusion in this review.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of ECP in the treatment of aGvHD in paediatric patients after HSCT is unknown and its use should be restricted within the context of RCTs. Such studies should address a comparison of ECP alone or in combination with standard treatment versus standard treatment alone. The 2015 review update brought about no additions to these conclusions.

Safety and Outcomes of Extracorporeal Photopheresis With the Therakos Cellex System for Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Pediatric Patients

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a difficult procedure to perform in the pediatric population. This is a retrospective review of 12 pediatric patients who underwent photopheresis with the Therakos Cellex system for graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Acute GVHD (aGVHD) occurred in 6 patients, and overlap syndrome and chronic GVHD (cGVHD) occurred in 4 and 2 patients, respectively. The ECP regimen was the same for all aGVHD and cGVHD patients: initially, every week (2 sessions/wk) for 2 months; next, every 2 weeks for 2 months; and finally, every month for at least 1 year. Improvement was observed in 7 of 10 aGVHD patients (70%) and in 4 of 6 cGVHD patients (66%). Eleven patients had skin involvement before ECP; 9 of them responded to treatment (81%). Gastrointestinal involvement occurred in 8 patients; 5 of them experienced improvement during ECP treatment (62%). All 4 patients with liver involvement failed to respond. No serious adverse reactions occurred. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that ECP with the Therakos Cellex system is a safe treatment option for GVHD in children, allowing the tapering of immunosuppressants by at least half.

Extracorporeal photopheresis versus alternative treatment for chronic graft-versus-host disease after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in paediatric patients

BACKGROUND

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation occurring in 6% to 65% of the recipients. Currently, the therapeutic mainstay for chronic GvHD are corticosteroids that are frequently combined with other immunosuppressive agents in people with steroid-refractory manifestations. There is no established standard treatment for steroid-refractory chronic GvHD. The therapeutic options in these people include extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), an immunomodulatory treatment that involves ex vivo collection of mononuclear cells from peripheral blood, exposure to the photoactive agent 8-methoxypsoralen, ultraviolet radiation and re-infusion of the processed cell product. The mechanisms of action of ECP are not completely understood.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ECP for the management of chronic GvHD in children and adolescents after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 9, 2012), MEDLINE and EMBASE databases from their inception to 12 September 2012. We searched the reference lists of potentially relevant studies without any language restriction. We searched eight trial registers and five conference proceedings. We also contacted experts in the field.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ECP with or without alternative treatment versus alternative treatment alone in paediatric patients with chronic GvHD after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently performed the study selection. We resolved disagreements in the selection of trials by consultation with a third review author.

MAIN RESULTS

We found no studies meeting the criteria for inclusion in this review.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of ECP in the treatment of chronic GvHD in paediatric patients after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation based on RCTs can currently not be evaluated since we have found no such studies. Current recommendations are based on retrospective or observational studies only. Thus, ideally, ECP should be applied in the context of controlled trials only. However, performing RCTs in this patient population will be challenging due to the limited number of patients, the variable disease presentation and the lack of well-defined response criteria. International collaboration, multicentre trials and appropriate funding for such trials will be needed. If treatment decisions based on clinical grounds in favour of ECP are made, people should be carefully monitored for beneficial and harmful effects and efforts should be made to share this information with other clinicians, for example by setting up registries for paediatric patients that are treated with ECP.

Extracorporeal photopheresis versus standard treatment for acute graft-versus-host disease after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation in paediatric patients

BACKGROUND

Acute graft-versus host disease (aGvHD) is a major cause of morbidity and mortality after haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) occurring in 8% to 59% of the recipients. Currently, the therapeutic mainstay for aGvHD is corticosteroids. However, there is no established standard treatment for steroid-refractory aGvHD. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a type of immunomodulatory method amongst different therapeutic options that involves ex vivo collection of peripheral mononuclear cells, exposure to the photoactive agent 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet-A radiation, and re-infusion of these treated blood cells to the patient. The mechanisms of action of ECP are not completely understood

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the effectiveness and safety of ECP for the management of aGvHD in children and adolescents after HSCT.

SEARCH METHODS

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 9, 2012), MEDLINE/PubMed and EMBASE (Ovid) databases from their inception to 12 September 2012. We searched the reference lists of potentially relevant studies without any language restriction. We searched eight trial registers and four conference proceedings. We also contacted an expert in the field to request information on unpublished study that involves ECP in aGvHD after HSCT.

SELECTION CRITERIA

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing ECP with or without standard treatment versus standard treatment alone in paediatric patients with aGvHD after HSCT.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS

Two review authors independently performed the study selection. We resolved disagreement in the selection of trials by consultation with a third review author.

MAIN RESULTS

We found no studies meeting the criteria for inclusion in this review.

AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS

The efficacy of ECP in the treatment of aGvHD in paediatric patients after HSCT is unknown and its use should be restricted within the context of RCTs. Such studies should address a comparison of ECP alone or in combination with standard treatment versus standard treatment alone.