Ruxolitinib as an Effective and Steroid-Sparing First-Line Treatment in Newly Diagnosed BOS Patients After Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Front Pharmacol. 2022 Jul 5:13:916472. doi: 10.3389/fphar.2022.916472. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

Bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS) is a life-threatening pulmonary complication of chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). In this study, we retrospectively identified seven patients newly diagnosed with BOS post HSCT and analyzed the outcomes in those patients treated with ruxolitinib as a first-line treatment. All seven patients achieved symptom responses within 2 weeks after ruxolitinib administration. Three months after treatment, five patients (71.43%) achieved a CR, and two (28.57%) achieved a PR. The overall response rate (ORR) was 100%. In addition, the steroid therapy was determined within 2 months after ruxolitinib treatment, indicating ruxolitinib as a steroid-sparing agent. We also found that ruxolitinib was well-tolerated and safe in treating newly diagnosed BOS. According to our results, ruxolitinib would be a promising and safe option in newly diagnosed BOS post HSCT.

Keywords: bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (BOS); cGVHD; hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT); pulmonary function test (PFT); ruxolitinib.