Efficiency and Toxicity of Imatinib Mesylate Combined with Atorvastatin Calcium in the Treatment of Steroid-Refractory Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease: A Single-Center, Prospective, Single-Arm, Open-Label Study.

INTRODUCTION: Steroid-refractory cGVHD (SR-cGVHD) presents new great challenges for treatment. We have reported that imatinib monotherapy was effective to SR-cGVHD, but the CR rate was not satisfactory and the benefit was not showed specific to some target organs, previously. Imatinib and statin drugs have been recognized to regulate T-cell function, statins also have been demonstrated endothelia protection, but whether this combination therapy was able to improve the efficacy remains unknown. Therefore, we designed this prospective, single-arm, open-label trial to investigate the efficacy of imatinib-based combination therapy in the treatment of SR-cGVHD for the first time. METHODS: Sixty SR-cGVHD patients were entered into this trial to investigate the combination of imatinib mesylate and atorvastatin calcium for the treatment of SR-cGVHD. The primary endpoint included the overall response rate (ORR) after 6 months of combined treatment. The secondary endpoints included an evaluation of survival, changes in T-cell subsets, and adverse events. RESULTS: At baseline, 45% (27/60) of patients had moderate cGVHD, and 55.0% (33/60) of patients had severe cGVHD. At the 6-month follow-up, a clinical response was achieved in 70.0% of patients, and a complete response (CR) was achieved in 26.7%. A total of 11.7% (7/60) of patients stopped immunosuppressive therapy at this point. After 6 months of treatment, the ORR rates of the liver, skin, eyes, and oral cavity were 80.6%, 78.1%, 61.5%, and 60.9%, respectively, with the liver also having the highest CR of 58.1%. The patients with moderate cGVHD had a better CR rate than those with severe cGVHD (55.6% vs. 3.0%, p < 0.0001). The overall survival in patients with ORR was improved (p = 0.0106). Lung involvement is an independent risk factor to affected ORR achievement (p = 0.021, HR = 0.335, 95% CI: 0.133-0.847), and the dosage of steroids was reduced in ORR patients. In clinical response patients, the ratio of CD8+ T cells (p = 0.0117) and Th17 cells (p = 0.0171) decreased, while the number of Treg cells (p = 0.0147) increased after 3 months. The most common adverse events were edema, nausea, and neutropenia, which were 13.3%, 11.7%, and 11.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: Combination treatment with imatinib mesylate and atorvastatin calcium was effective in treating SR-cGVHD and significantly decreased target organ injury, especially liver damage, indicating that T-cell regulatory function may play an important role in this process.

Outcomes of patients with hematological malignancies who undergo unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation with ATG-Fresenius versus ATG-Genzyme.

To compare the outcomes of patients with hematological malignancies who received ATG-Fresenius (ATG-F) 20 mg/kg versus those who received ATG-Genzyme (ATG-G) 10 mg/kg in an unrelated donor hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) procedure, a total of 186 patients who underwent their first allogeneic HSCT with an unrelated donor were retrospectively analyzed. One hundred and seven patients received ATG-F, and seventy-nine patients received ATG-G. Multivariate analysis showed that the type of ATG preparation had no effect on neutrophil engraftment (P = 0.61), cumulative incidence of relapse (P = 0.092), nonrelapse mortality (P = 0.44), grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) (P = 0.47), chronic GVHD (P = 0.29), overall survival (P = 0.795), recurrence-free survival (P = 0.945) or GVHD-free relapse-free survival (P = 0.082). ATG-G was associated with a lower risk of extensive chronic GVHD and a higher risk of cytomegaloviremia (P = 0.01 and HR = 0.41, P < 0.001 and HR = 4.244, respectively). The results of this study suggest that the preparation of rabbit ATG used for unrelated HSCT should be selected based on the incidence of extensive chronic GVHD of each center, and the posttransplant management strategy should be adjusted according to the ATG preparation.

Thrombopoietin receptor agonists for refractory thrombocytopenia in patients after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

OBJECTIVE: Autologous hematopoietic stem cell (ASC) transplantation (ASCT) is an effective treatment method for patients with hematological disorders and malignant diseases. The patient's ASCs are harvested prior to radiotherapy/chemotherapy, cryopreserved and then transfused back after the high-dose radiotherapy/chemotherapy conditioning treatment. Since some patients develop thrombocytopenia after receiving ASCT, it is difficult for them to bear simultaneously the management of their original disease and thrombocytopenia. The present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of thrombocytopenia therapy with thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPORAs) after ASCT. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed the clinical safety and efficacy of TPORA treatment for the enrolled 20 patients who developed thrombocytopenia after ASCT. The measured parameters were prolonged isolated thrombocytopenia (PIT), secondary failure of platelet recovery (SFPR) and other calculated response index. Patients with platelet count (PC) ≤ 50×109/L were treated with TPORA, namely with either eltrombopag (Elt), hetrombopag (Het), or avatrobopag (Ava). RESULTS: The group of 20 patients, who received TPORA administration for their thrombocytopenia after ASCT, had a median age of 50 years (ranging between 17 and 60 years). The median administration time of TPORA application was 48 days (ranging from 7 to 451 days); an overall response rate (ORR) was 85% with no response in 15% of patients, while with complete response (CR) in 70% of patients and partial response (PR) in 15% of patients. The median platelet count was 19 × 109/L before TPORA treatment and increased to 87×109)/L after the treatment. The TPORA treatment was safe as only 4 patients (20%) displayed a mild transaminase elevation. No other reported side effects occurred, such as thrombosis, joint pain, diarrhea, and myelofibrosis. It was demonstrated that the short response time to TPORA treatment correlated to the fast platelet recovery, when the number of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow smear exceeded 35/4.5 cm2 under a low magnification of 100 times (p = 0.015). CONCLUSION: TPORA therapy for thrombocytopenia occurring after the radiotherapy/ chemotherapy-conditioned ASCT was well tolerated and effective for platelets recovery.

Analysis of the Efficacy and Safety of Avatrombopag Combined With MSCs for the Treatment of Thrombocytopenia After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation.

Platelet graft failure (PGF) is a frequent and serious complication after Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) and lacks effective treatment strategies, which could affect the prognosis of patients and even cause death. The exact underlying mechanism of PGF remains unclear, and lacks standard treatment. Here, we conduct a retrospective study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of avatrombopag combined with mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in 16 patients with thrombocytopenia after allo-HSCT. Patients were administered the following treatment regimen: 20 mg/d avatrombopag; if the PLT count was less than 50×10^9/L for at least 2 weeks, the dose was increased to 40 mg/d; if the PLT count was 200-400×10^9/L, the dose was reduced; and if the PLT count was greater than 400×10^9/L, avatrombopag was terminated. Umbilical cord MSCs (1×10^6 cells/kg) infusion was performed every week for 4-6 weeks. Among the 16 patients, 13 patients (81.3%) achieved a complete response (CR), 2 patients (12.5%) got a partial response (PR), and 1 patient (6.3%) had no response (NR). The median time to obtain CR was 32 (7-426) days after treatment with avatrombopag combined with umbilical cord MSCs. The time to reach 20×10^9/L≤ PLT <50×10^9/L in the 2 patients with PR was 52 and 230 days after treatment, respectively. One patient had a severe pulmonary infection and died of cytomegalovirus pneumonia. Overall, our results indicated that combination of avatrombopag with MSCs can promote platelet recovery after transplantation, thereby improving the survival rate of patients and improving the quality of life of patients after transplantation, and providing a new method and strategy for the treatment of thrombocytopenia after allo-HSCT.

Is splenectomy necessary for immune thrombocytopenic purpura? The role of rituximab in patients with corticosteroid resistance in a single-center experience.

BACKGROUND: Corticosteroid therapy followed by splenectomy for immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is the standard practice. Rituximab is mostly used in patients with chronic refractory ITP who have failed multiple previous treatments, including splenectomy. OBJECTIVE: We explored the potential role of rituximab as an early therapeutic option for patients with corticosteroid-resistant ITP who preferred to avoid splenectomy in favor of other treatment. METHODS: Twenty-five patients with corticosteroid-resistant ITP were treated with rituximab between May 1, 2009, and June 30, 2012, at a single center. Rituximab was administered at 100 mg/m(2) on days 7, 14, 21, and 28. The response to rituximab therapy and adverse effects were observed. RESULTS: Complete remission was achieved in 19 patients (76%), partial remission in 3 patients (12%), and minimal response in none of the patients; 1 patient was considered a treatment failure (4%). Two patients (8%) were lost to follow-up. Twenty-two patients (88%) achieved a platelet count >50 × 10(9)/L. The median time from administration of the first rituximab dose to partial remission was 2 months (range, 0.7-3 months) for all the patients. Response classified as sustained was achieved in 21 patients (84%). No serious adverse effects were observed during rituximab therapy. CONCLUSIONS: Rituximab therapy is effective and safe for patients with corticosteroid-resistant ITP before splenectomy, resulting in high complete remission and overall response rates. A multicenter study with a larger sample should be performed to further explore the role of rituximab therapy.