Should we use extracorporeal photopheresis more often? Evidence from graft-versus-host disease patients monitored with Treg as a biomarker

Background: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is a major complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is an immunotherapy treatment for cGvHD, although suitable response biomarkers are lacking. Materials & methods: We analyzed data...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Future Science OA
Main Authors: Sérgio Machado Lopes, Susana Roncon, Ana Catarina Pinho, Filipa Bordalo, Luís Antunes, Fernando Campilho, António Campos, Altamiro Costa-Pereira
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-09-01
Subjects:
ECP
extracorporeal photopheresis
GvHD
immunotherapy
Treg
Online Access:https://www.future-science.com/doi/10.2144/fsoa-2020-0107
Description
Summary:Background: Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is a major complication after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is an immunotherapy treatment for cGvHD, although suitable response biomarkers are lacking. Materials & methods: We analyzed data from six cGvHD patients undergoing ECP at a reference center from 826 to 2866 days. Circulating Tregs were enumerated, patient’s clinical evolution, immunosuppression dose and adverse events (AEs) registered. Results: We observed an increase in Tregs, a decrease in immunosuppression dosage and symptoms improvement. Mild AEs occurred at a very low rate. Conclusion: In these patients, the improvement of cGvHD, with low AEs, confirms a place for ECP as treatment. Improvements were accompanied by an increase in circulating Tregs, suggesting their role as a biomarker.
ISSN:2056-5623

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