In a recent study published in the journal Transplantation and Cellular Therapy, researchers at the Johns Hopkins Hospital University School of Medicine investigated the efficacy of post-transplantation cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in the prevention of Graft Versus Host Disease (GVHD). Their research exhibited that PTCy is both a safe and effective GHVD prophylaxis for patients receiving peripheral blood stem cell (PBSC) transplants from mismatched unrelated donors (mMUD).

When patients undergo PBSC transplantation, GVHD can arise as a result of donor T cells attacking the transplant recipient. The risk of GVHD increases in patients receiving mMUD transplants, which motivated the authors to explore the use of PTCy-based GVHD prophylaxis in 29 patients receiving mMUD PBSCT.

With a median age of 54 years old and with PBSC transplantation spanning the years 2012 and 2020, zero cases of severe chronic GVHD were observed following transplantation, and the overall survival rate at the one-year mark was 93%. Moreover, only one instance of severe cytokine release syndrome was observed. These findings demonstrate that PTCy as a GVHD prophylaxis for patients in need of blood transplants can experience enhanced prospects of finding a suitable donor.

Reference:

KC Rappazzo, M Zahurak, M Bettinotti, SA Ali, AJ Ambinder, J Bolaños-Meade, I Borrello, AE Dezern, D Gladstone, C Gocke, E Fuchs, CA Huff, PH Imus, T Jain, L Luznik, L Rahmat, LJ Swinnen, N Wagner-Johnston, RJ Jones, RF Ambinder. Nonmyeloablative, HLA-Mismatched Unrelated Peripheral Blood Transplantation with High-Dose Post-Transplantation Cyclophosphamide. (2021). Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. 2666-6367.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtct.2021.08.013.

Tags: Peripheral, Transplant, HLA, nonmyeloblative, mismatched, unrelated, blood transplantation, high-dose, post-transplant