Ruxolitinib en pacientes que recibieron trasplante alogénico de células progenitoras hematopoyéticas y desarrollan enfermedad de injerto contra huésped (EICH) crónica, refractarios o dependientes a los corticoides y que han recibido terapia inmunosupresora a dosis máxima / Ruxolitinib in patients who received allogeneic hematopoietic progenitor cell transplantation and develop chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), refractory or dependent to corticosteroids and who have received maximum-dose immunosuppressive therapy

INTRODUCCIÓN: Cuadro clínico: La Enfermedad de Injerto Contra Huésped (EICH) es una complicación multisistémica frecuente y potencialmente mortal del Trasplante Alogénico de Células Progenitoras Hematopoyéticas (TACPH). Las complicaciones están influenciadas por factores relacionados con el paciente como la edad, el estado funcional, comorbilidades, y pueden afectar la piel, boca, ojos, pulmón, hígado e intestinos. La EICH crónica se presenta entre el 30% a 70% de pacientes post TACPH. En estos pacientes, la mortalidad por EICH crónica puede alcanzar hasta un 10%, siendo una de las principales causas de muerte, superada únicamente por la recaída de la enfermedad primaria. La mortalidad por EICH crónica puede atribuirse tanto a complicaciones propias de la enfermedad como a la terapia inmunosupresora, y está fuertemente correlacionada con la respuesta al tratamiento de primera línea. Por otro lado, la EICH crónica contribuye de manera sustancial a la morbilidad, deterioro funcional y disminución de la calidad de vida. Los pacientes que viven con EICH crónica tienen el doble de probabilidad de desarrollar otra enfermedad grave o potencialmente mortal, con un mayor riesgo de segundas neoplasias, enfermedad cardiovascular, infecciones y complicaciones pulmonares. Estos pacientes suelen experimentar ansiedad, angustia, menor resiliencia, deterioro de la calidad de vida, estado funcional deficiente y pobre funcionalidad social. Entre los factores de riesgo se ha descrito el aumento de la edad del huésped, el estado del citomegalovirus (CMV) del donante y del huésped, la seropositividad del virus de Epstein-Barr (VEB) del donante, el trasplante de células madre de sangre periférica versus trasplante de médula ósea, EICH aguda previa, la presencia de un ambiente estéri

Patient-reported treatment response in chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) treatment response is assessed using National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Criteria in clinical trials, and by clinician assessment in routine practice. Patient-reported treatment response is central to the experience of chronic GvHD manifestations as well as treatment benefit and toxicity, but how they correlate with clinician- or NIH-responses has not been well-studied. We aimed to characterize 6-month patientreported response, determine associated chronic GvHD baseline organ features and changes, and evaluate which patientreported quality of life and chronic GvHD symptom burden measures correlated with patient-reported response. From two nationally representative Chronic GVHD Consortium prospective observational studies, 382 subjects were included in this analysis. Patient and clinician responses were categorized as improved (completely gone, very much better, moderately better, a little better) versus not improved (about the same, a little worse, moderately worse, very much worse). At six months, 270 (71%) patients perceived chronic GvHD improvement, while 112 (29%) perceived no improvement. Patient-reported response had limited correlation with either clinician-reported (kappa 0.37) or NIH chronic GvHD response criteria (kappa 0.18). Notably, patient-reported response at six months was significantly associated with subsequent failure-free survival. In multivariate analysis, NIH responses in eye, mouth, and lung had significant association with 6-month patient-reported response, as well as a change in Short Form 36 general health and role physical domains and Lee Symptom Score skin and eye changes. Based on these findings, patient-reported responses should be considered as an important complementary endpoint in chronic GvHD clinical trials and drug development.

Enrichment of effector memory T cells in the CD4 and CD8 T cell compartment during chronic graft versus host disease in children.

BACKGROUND: During allogeneic Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT), frequent pathological scenarios include graft versus host disease (GVHD) and viral infections. We hypothesized if exogenous stimulus as alloantigen and viral antigens might impact on central and effector memory T cells in pediatric recipients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Subjects included 21 pediatric recipients and 20 healthy children (control group). Peripheral blood samples of patients were collected along the first 712 days post-HSCT. T cell phenotyping of naïve, central, and effector memory T cells (TCMs and TEMs, respectively) was conducted using flow cytometry. Viral nucleic acids were detected using real-time PCR. RESULTS: T cell reconstitution was not reached after 1 year post-HSCT. Chronic GVHD was associated with increased numbers of naïve CD4 T cells (p < 0.05) as well as an increase in TEM and TCM cells of the CD4 (p < 0.0001 and p < 0.05, respectively) and CD8 T cell TEM (p < 0.0001). and TCM (p < 0.001) populations too. Moreover, BK and Epstein-Barr viruses were the main viral pathogens detected (<104 copies), which were associated with a decrease in all T cell compartments. CONCLUSION: During chronic GVHD, alloantigen persistence generates TEM cell enrichment among CD4 and CD8 T cells, and viral infections are associated with deficient recovery of T cells after HSCT.

Ikaros expression is associated with an increased risk of chronic graft-versus-host disease.

Immune reconstitution after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is a complex and extremely variable process. The Ikaros transcription factor plays an important role in hematopoiesis in several cell lines, especially in the lymphoid lineage. We hypothesized that Ikaros might influence immune reconstitution, and consequently, the risk of opportunistic infections, relapse, and graft versus host disease (GVHD). Samples were collected from the graft and from the peripheral blood (PB) of the recipients 3 weeks after neutrophil recovery. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was performed to analyze the absolute and relative Ikaros expression. Patients were divided into two groups, according to Ikaros expression in the graft and in the recipients' PB based on the ROC curves for moderate/severe cGVHD. A cutoff of 1.48 was used for Ikaros expression in the graft, and a cutoff of 0.79 was used for Ikaros expression in the recipients' PB. Sixty-six patients were included in this study. Median age of patients was 52 years (range 16-80 years), 55% of them were male, and 58% of them had acute leukemia. Median follow-up period was 18 months (range 10-43 months). There was no association between Ikaros expression and the risk of acute GVHD, relapse, or mortality. However, a significant association was observed with the risk of chronic GVHD. Higher Ikaros expression in the graft was associated with a significantly higher cumulative incidence (CI) of moderate/severe chronic GVHD according to the National Institute of Health (NIH) classification at two years (54% vs. 15% for patients with lower expression, P = 0.03). A higher Ikaros expression in the recipients' PB 3 weeks after engraftment was also associated with a significantly higher risk of moderate/severe chronic GVHD (65% vs. 11%, respectively, P = 0.005). In conclusion, Ikaros expression in the graft and in the recipients' PB after transplantation was associated with a higher risk of moderate/severe chronic GVHD. Ikaros expression should be evaluated in larger prospective trials as a potential biomarker for chronic GVHD.

Chronic graft-versus-host-disease treatment in Brazil: analyses of failure-free survival.

Failure-free survival (FFS), defined as the absence of new systemic treatment, recurrence of original malignancy and mortality not associated with recurrence after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT), is a robust clinical measure to interpret results of initial systemic treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). We evaluate FFS after initial treatment of cGVHD in a mixed-race cohort from a resource-constrained country. This retrospective study included 354 consecutive patients after their first HCT between January 2014 and August 2020, who received initial systemic treatment for moderate or severe cGVHD at 13 Brazilian centers. Cox regression models were used to identify risk factors for treatment failure. The overall median follow-up among survivors was 28 months (range 1-71) after initial treatment. FFS was 89% at 6 months, 71% at 1 year and 52% at 2 years. New systemic treatment was the major cause of failure. In multivariable models, prior grades II-IV acute GVHD, a National Institutes of Health severity score of 3 in liver, gastrointestinal tract or lung involvement, and onset of initial treatment of cGVHD within 12 months after transplantation were all associated with an increased risk of treatment failure. Our results could serve as a benchmark for the design of future clinical trials evaluating initial treatment of cGVHD in resource-constrained locations.

Síndrome bronquial obstructivo recurrente: área operativa noreste, sistema provincial de salud de Tucumán / Recurrent bronchial obstructive syndrome: northeast area of provincial health system, Tucumán

INTRODUCCIÓN El síndrome bronquial obstructivo (SBO) puede presentarse en forma recidivante, síndrome bronquial obstructivo recurrente (SBOR), constituyendo una patología crónica. OBJETIVOS Determinar la prevalencia y características de la población con SBOR menor de 5 años en 2014, tomando la unidad espacio-población en relación con el área de responsabilidad de los Centros de Atención Primaria (CAPS). MÉTODOS Se realizó un estudio de corte transversal. Se analizaron consultas respiratorias en menores de 5 años. Variable dependiente consultas SBOR. Variables independientes CAPS, internación, peso al nacer, edad, edad gestacional, inmunizaciones. Características de unidades espacio-población: factores identificados en la planilla de ronda de los agentes sanitarios que caractericen el área de responsabilidad del CAPS. RESULTADOS Se analizaron 17 776 registros de consulta respiratorias de 4362 niños menores de 5 años, en el Área Operativa Noreste de Tucumán en 2014. El 33,1% de consultas fueron de SBO y afectaban al 45% de los niños, con recurrencia del 20%. La proporción de SBOR fue superior en menores de 2 años (27,6%). Se observó un ascenso en el número de niños con episodios de SBOR a partir de los 7 meses, con mayor concentración entre los 8 y 26 meses. Entre los casos de SBO, el 14,8% (292) de los menores de 1 año presentaron bronquiolitis y, entre los casos de SBOR, el 65%. En menores de 1 año se duplicaba la chance de presentar SBOR si había antecedentes de bronquiolitis y aumentaba a 1,7 con la internación entre los que enfermaron. Los casos de SBOR ajustados a la población por barrios, en relación con la situación socioeconómica, mostraron mayor prevalencia en los barrios de mayor riesgo. DISCUSIÓN Se hace necesario profundizar el análisis de barreras para el acceso equitativo a la salud y de coberturas asistenciales para poder encontrar la real prevalencia de esta patología.