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. 2024 Mar;59(3):380-386.
doi: 10.1038/s41409-023-02174-2. Epub 2024 Jan 6.

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

Olaf Penack  1   2 , Christophe Peczynski  3   4 , William Boreland  3   4 , Jessica Lemaitre  3   4 , H Christian Reinhardt  5 , Ksenia Afanasyeva  6 , Daniele Avenoso  7 , Tobias A W Holderried  8 , Brian Thomas Kornblit  9 , Eleni Gavriilaki  10 , Carmen Martinez  11 , Patrizia Chiusolo  12 , Maria Caterina Mico  13 , Elisabeth Daguenet  14 , Stina Wichert  15 , Hakan Ozdogu  16 , Agnieszka Piekarska  17 , Francesca Kinsella  18 , Grzegorz W Basak  3   19 , Hélène Schoemans  3   20   21 , Christian Koenecke  3   22 , Ivan Moiseev  6 , Zinaida Peric  3   23
Affiliations

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

Olaf Penack et al. Bone Marrow Transplant. 2024 Mar.

Erratum in

Abstract

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests. The study was funded by Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals. OP has previously received honoraria from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals, but not for the current project. OP has received honoraria or travel support from Gilead, Jazz, MSD, Novartis and Pfizer. He has received research support from Incyte and Priothera. He is member of advisory boards to Equillium Bio, Jazz, Gilead, Novartis, MSD, Omeros, Priothera, Sanofi, Shionogi and SOBI. TAWH has previously received honoraria or travel support from Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals and Novartis, but not for the current project. Honoraria: Amgen, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Jazz; Consulting or advisory role: Amgen, Jazz, Kite/Gilead, Novartis, Sanofi, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Pfizer, GlaxoSmithKline; Travel, accommodation, expenses: Janssen, Jazz, Abbvie, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Amgen, Kite/Gilead, Astellas, Neovii, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi, Mallinckrodt. HS reports having received personal fees from Incyte, Janssen, Novartis, Sanofi and from the Belgian Hematological Society (BHS), as well as research grants from Novartis and the BHS, all paid to her institution. She has also received non-financial support (travel grants) from Gilead, Pfizer, the EBMT and the CIBMTR. IM has received honoraria from Novartis, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi. FK has received honoraria from Mallinckrodt (but not for this project), Sanofi and research funding from Gilead. PC FK has received honoraria from Mallinckrodt (but not for this project). EG has received honoraria or research support from Astra Zeneca, Gilead, Jazz, Omeros, Sanofi and Sobi Pharmaceuticals. The remaining authors declare no conflict of interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Univariate outcome graphs.
Shown are overall suvival (a), progression-free survival (b), relapse incidence (c) and non-relapse mortality (d) in patients with SR-cGVHD after initiation of treatment with ECP (black lines – –) or Ruxolitinib (orange linesformula image).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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