Short Course Infliximab and Extracorporeal Photopheresis As Therapy For Steroid-Refractory Acute Gvhd In Matched Related and Unrelated Allogeneic Hematopoietic Cell Transplant (HCT)

Steroid-refractory (SR) acute graft-versus host disease (aGVHD) is a serious complication of allogeneic HCT, for which there is no established standard treatment. Both ECP and cytokine inhibitors such as Infliximab have apparent single agent activity in the therapy of SR aGVHD, but there are no published data that address the efficacy of combination anticytokine therapy and ECP in this setting. We report here results in 18 adult patients (pts) with grade III or IV SR aGVHD who were treated with concurrent Infliximab and ECP.

All pts underwent allogeneic HCT (first transplant, n=15, second transplant, n=3) for a hematologic malignancy at Mayo Clinic Arizona between March 2012 and May 2013. The median age was 61 (range 22-70), and the median follow-up of 6 surviving pts is 263 days (range 79-433). Donors were related in 3, matched unrelated in 8, and mismatched unrelated in 7. GVHD prophylaxis consisted of tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil in 13 pts and tacrolimus/methotrexate in 5; in addition, 17 pts received in vivo T-cell depletion with Thymoglobulin 2.5 – 7.5 mg/kg. All pts developed grades III-IV aGVHD at a median day 27 post-transplant (range 10-107) and failed to respond to a course of high-dose corticosteroids (methylprednisolone or equivalent 2 mg/kg daily) for at least 5 days.

At diagnosis of SR aGVHD, pts were scheduled to receive weekly Infliximab 10 mg/kg (maximum 4 doses), concurrent with ECP performed twice or thrice weekly for one month, followed by a pre-specified taper schedule (anticipated total treatment duration of 6-9 months). To minimize infectious risk and morbidity, corticosteroids were tapered rapidly after the start of Infliximab/ECP therapy.

Thirteen pts (72%) responded to the Infliximab/ECP combination; complete response (CR; resolution of all GVHD symptoms for at least 30 days and able to discontinue corticosteroids) was observed in 6 pts (33%), and partial response (PR; improvement in GVHD symptoms, partial taper of corticosteroids, and no additional agent for at least 30 days) in 7 pts (39%). At the time of this report, 6 pts are alive, and the Kaplan-Meier estimate of one-year survival is 22.5 % (95% CI, 8.8%-47%). Only pts who achieved CR had good outcomes (5/6 surviving and clinically well); among 13 pts with PR (7) or no response/progression (6) to Infliximab/ECP, 12 have died and one is day 79 post transplant and remains on ECP and low-dose prednisone. Eleven of the 12 deaths were related to GVHD or complications of its treatment (infection, multi-organ failure).

In this retrospective study of adult pts with severe (grade III/IV) SR aGVHD, treatment with 4 doses of weekly Infliximab and concurrent ECP resulted in an overall response rate of 72%, with one-third of pts achieving CR; the regimen was well-tolerated and facilitated early taper and rapid discontinuance of corticosteroids. Unfortunately, the overall survival of 22.5% at one year does not appear superior to other single agent or combination therapies reported in the literature, or to historical data from our program. Although a small percentage of pts appear to be long-term survivors, the majority of pts succumb to complications of progressive GVHD or infection. Given poor results with available therapies, and the dismal prognosis of pts with SR aGVHD, future research should focus on better preventative strategies for this devastating complication of allogeneic HCT.

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.