Graft-vs-Host Disease

Panelists discuss how treatment selection for multiorgan chronic GVHD currently relies on trial data, toxicity profiles, and practical considerations like proximity to treatment centers and patient preference for oral vs intravenous therapy, while looking toward future developments in predictive biomarkers that could enable personalized treatment selection and early preemptive intervention before clinical symptoms develop.

Panelists discuss how the availability of novel agents has transformed chronic GVHD management by shortening steroid treatment duration to 2 to 3 weeks before adding second-line therapy, with response assessment focusing on dominant organ involvement rather than comprehensive National Institutes of Health criteria, and emphasizing patient-reported outcomes and quality of life measures as essential components of treatment evaluation in clinical practice.

Panelists discuss how a 52-year-old male patient developed multiorgan chronic GVHD 9 months post transplant with skin tightness, joint pain, and pulmonary involvement that showed minimal response to initial prednisone therapy and only moderate improvement after adding ruxolitinib, highlighting the importance of early detection through patient education and regular monitoring including spirometry to prevent irreversible fibrosis.

A panel of hematologic cancer experts discusses data on GVHD management from the 2025 SOHO Annual Meeting.

Panelists discuss how belumosudil works through anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic mechanisms by preventing actin filament polymerization and sequestering transcription factors, while axatilimab-csfr represents a novel approach targeting monocyte and macrophage pathways through CSF-1R blockade to reduce tissue inflammation and fibrosis in patients with chronic GVHD who have failed multiple prior therapies.

Pegtarazimod has received orphan drug designation from the European Medicines Agency for the management of graft-vs-host disease.