EIVG

Pulmonary complications affect up to 40% of patients with severe neutropenia lasting for more than 10 d. As they are frequently associated with fever and elevation of C-reactive protein or other signs of inflammation, they are mostly handled as pneumonia. However, the differential diagnosis is broad, and a causative microbial agent remains undetected in the majority of cases. Pulmonary side effects from cytotoxic treatment or pulmonary involvement by the underlying malignancy must always be taken into account and may provide grounds for invasive diagnostic procedures in selected patients...

Treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) has evolved from a one-size-fits-all approach to a more nuanced strategy based on predicted outcomes. Lower and time-limited doses of immune suppression for patients predicted to have low-risk GVHD are safe and effective. In more severe GVHD, prolonged exposure to immunosuppressive therapies, failure to achieve tolerance, and inadequate clinical responses are the proximate causes of GVHD-related deaths. This article presents acute GVHD-related scenarios representing, respectively, certainty of diagnosis, multiple causes of symptoms, jaundice, an initial therapy algorithm, secondary therapy, and defining futility of treatment...

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) recipients lacking HLA-matched related donors have increased graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and nonrelapse mortality (NRM). Bortezomib added to reduced-intensity conditioning can offer benefit in T cell-replete HLA-mismatched HSCT and may also benefit myeloablative conditioning (MAC) transplants. We conducted a phase II trial of short-course bortezomib plus standard tacrolimus/methotrexate after busulfan/fludarabine MAC in 34 patients with predominantly myeloid malignancies...

Treatment of chronic graft-versus-host disease is intended to produce a sustainable benefit by reducing symptom burden, controlling objective manifestations of disease activity, preventing damage and impairment, and improving overall survival without causing disproportionate harms related to the treatment itself. Successful management can control the disease until systemic treatment is no longer needed. The complexity of the disease, the extended duration of follow-up needed to observe disease resolution and withdrawal of immunosuppressive treatment, and the lack of fully developed shorter term endpoints impede progress in the field...

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a significant determinant of overall outcome and quality of life in survivors of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Standard initial therapy of cGVHD is based on prolonged use of corticosteroids and a calcineurin inhibitor and has not changed for over 3 decades, despite limited efficacy and long-term toxicity. Rituximab is an attractive agent for the upfront treatment of cGVHD because of its favorable toxicity profile, efficacy in steroid-refractory cGVHD, and ability to serve as a steroid-sparing agent in autoimmune diseases...

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OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of combined treatment with Chinese medicine (CM) and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) on patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA). METHODS: Eleven patients were treated with CM plus allo-HSCT. Nine patients received a conditioning regimen consisting of fludarabine (Flu), anti-thymocyte globulin (pig ALG), or anti-lymphocyte globulin (Rabbit ATG) and cyclophosphamide (CY), and two patients received pig ALG and CY...

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) remains a common and potentially life-threatening complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT). The 2-year cumulative incidence of chronic GVHD requiring systemic treatment is ~30% to 40% by National Institutes of Health criteria. The risk of chronic GVHD is higher and the duration of treatment is longer after HCT with mobilized blood cells than with marrow cells. Clinical manifestations can impair activities of daily living and often linger for years...