Rituximab shows effectiveness against chronic GVHD

Research points to the benefit of using the drug rituximab to combat chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogenic bone marrow transplants (BMT).

Researchers at the Dana Farber Cancer Center have published results on the largest clinical trial to date (30 patients) of this treatment.

Chronic GVHD is a leading cause of death among allogenic BMT survivors. About 50% of allogenic BMT patients develop a GVHD – their body’s immune system identifies the transplanted cells as foreign invaders.

Transplant rejections that occur within the first 100 days of the transplant are called Acute GVHD. Later rejections are called Chronic GVHD. Chronic GVHD is life threatening and can effect all organs.

The theory behind using rituximab - a drug widely used against B-cell lymphoma and some inflammatory diseases - arose from earlier lab experiments that suggested GVHD involved the B-cells of the immune system, not just T-cells.