Early initiation of extracorporeal photochemotherapy increases response for chronic graft versus host disease following steroid failure.

OBJECTIVES: Chronic graft versus host disease (GVHD) is one of the major obstacles to achieve success in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). Extracorporeal photochemotherapy (ECP) has been demonstrated to be an effective modality for the treatment of GVHD in previous studies but they vary in terms of initiation and duration. Our aim is to demonstrate the characteristics of our patients who received ECP for chronic GVHD to clarify the best treatment scheme. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, we retrospectively evaluated 34 patients with steroid refractory chronic GVHD (n=34) who were treated with ECP between 2001 and 2015. The initiation of ECP was determined according to patient status and the physician's preference. RESULTS: ECP was initiated early (≤3months) as the preferred second-line treatment after failure of methylprednisolone treatment in 12 patients (35%), 22 steroid refractory patients (65%) received ECP later. In all cohorts, 10 (29%) and 14 (41%) of 34 patients achieved complete response (CR) and partial response (PR), respectively, with an overall response rate (ORR) of 70. Early initiation of ECP after chronic GVHD diagnosis (≤3months vs more than 3months) was associated with increased rates of response (92% vs 59%, P=0.046) in which the severity of diseases were similar. Patients with skin involvement in early treatment group had statistically better response. Mild side effects were detected in only 6 patients (16%). CONCLUSION: ECP is a safe treatment modality and particularly effective when initiated soon after steroid failure in chronic GVHD.

Extracorporeal photochemotherapy in mycosis fungoides.

OBJECTIVES: Extracorporeal photo-chemotherapy (ECP, photopheresis) is an approved treatment modality for mycosis fungoides (MF). Our aim is to present our ECP data for MF. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 50 MF patients who received ECP for clinical activity, toxicity, and response and outcome rates, and we compared these with combination therapies. RESULTS: The overall response rate (ORR) was 42% (21/50), while the median time to response was 11months (range, 3-48months). Ten of the responders (48%) had 3 or more treatment lines prior to ECP. Eight patients (16%) had adverse events related to ECP. The overall survival (OS) of 50 patients was 72months (range, 3-211). There was no statistically significant difference in the OS in early-stage vs late-stage patients (77 vs 69months, P=0.077). The stage 3 and 4 patients received an average of 31 cycles compared to 55 cycles in stage 1 and 2 patients (P=0.006). The increased extent of ECP was not correlated with the response. Combined treatment with ECP significantly improved the OS (84months vs 62months, P=0.005). DISCUSSION: A low frequency of side effects and improved OS observed in combination therapy makes ECP a favorable option for treating MF.