Kinoshita H, Mandava M, Jensen-Wachspress MA, et al. Outcomes Following Posttransplant Viral-Specific T-Cell Therapy in Patients with Sickle Cell Disease. Blood Advances. 2022; (doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2022008219).

New research demonstrates the safety of virus-specific T (VST) cells for use in patients with sickle cell disease (SCD) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In all, 13 SCD patients received HSCT from HLA-matched (N=9) or HLA-mismatched (N=4) donors were given 15 VST products for the treatment or prevention of viruses including cytomegalovirus, Epstein Barr virus, adenovirus, BK virus, and human herpes virus 6). Six patients (46.2%) were administered VSTs to treat virus infections, and 80% of five patients with active viremia realized remission of at least one virus. Seven more patients (53.8%) received prophylactic VSTs, and six (85.7%) patients in that group remained virus-free after the infusion. There was no immediate toxicity related to the infusions, and only two patients (15.4%) developed severe de novo acute graft-versus-host disease. These outcomes suggest that utilizing VSTs as routine post-HSCT prophylaxis or treatment may improve SCD patients' transplant safety.

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Tags: transplantation, Patients, Cellular therapy, HSCT, clinical, Research, Transplant, PTCy, donor, HLA, T cells, hematopoietic transplantation, T cell, sickle cell disease