Adverse events in second- and third-line treatments for acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease: systematic review

BACKGROUND: Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is associated with an increased risk of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), a strong prognostic predictor of early mortality within the first 2 years following allo-HSCT. The objective of this study was to describe the harm outcomes reported among patients receiving second- and third-line treatment as part of the management for GvHD via a systematic literature review. METHODS: A total of 34 studies met the systematic review inclusion criteria, reporting adverse events (AEs) across 12 different second- and third-line therapies. RESULTS: A total of 14 studies reported AEs across nine different therapies used in the treatment of acute GvHD (aGvHD), 17 studies reported AEs of eight different treatments for chronic GvHD (cGvHD) and 3 reported a mixed population. Infections were the AE reported most widely, followed by haematologic events and laboratory abnormalities. Reported infections per patient were lower under extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) for aGvHD (0.267 infections per patient over 6 months) relative to any of the therapies studied (ranging from 0.853 infections per patient per 6 months under etanercept up to 1.998 infections per patient on inolimomab). CONCLUSION: The reported incidence of infectious AEs in aGvHD and grade 3–5 AEs in cGvHD was lower on ECP compared with pharmaceutical management.