Clinical Trial Design Issues in Systemic Sclerosis: an Update

Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma, SSc) is a multisystem disease characterized by vasculopathy, autoimmunity, and fibrosis. SSc has the highest disease-related mortality rate among the rheumatologic illnesses. In the USA, there remains no FDA-approved therapy. As our understanding of SSc pathogenesis improves, targeted therapies interrupting key pathways and mediators will be studied in clinical trials. However, clinical trials in SSc are fraught with challenges. Validated clinical outcome measures do not exist for all disease manifestations. It can be difficult to discern disease activity from damage. SSc is highly heterogeneous, with multiple different phenotypes, and predicting who will have progressive disease is not currently well understood. Biomarkers are in early stages of development and do not represent surrogate outcomes at this time. Given that SSc is uncommon, studies of similar disease aspects or populations can lead to competition for patients. This review will focus on current issues in SSc clinical trial design.     

Autologous Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation for Severe Multiple Sclerosis

We describe the results of a clinical trial to evaluate the feasibility and toxicity of autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT) for patients with progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). Fifteen patients (all patients with secondary progressive MS) were enrolled. The median expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score at baseline was 6.0 (range, 4.5-7.5). Peripheral blood stem cells were obtained by leukapheresis after mobilization with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. In 9 patients, CD34+ cell selection was performed with a CliniMACS cell selection system, and 6 patients accepted infusion of unmodified peripheral blood stem cells. The modified BEAM (carmustine, teniposide, cytarabine, and melphalan) was the sole conditioning regimen used. The adverse effects included infections, mucositis, transient hepatotoxicity, and diarrhea. Three patients had flares of neurologic deterioration during mobilization, 8 patients had the same manifestation during transplantation, and 2 patients had similar flares within 3 months of transplantation. Six patients experienced continuous neurologic improvement after transplantation, 5 patients experienced neurologic progression, and 4 patients had stabilization of their disease. The confirmed progression-free rate was 63.8% at 49 months. The results of lymphocyte purging were no better than for no purging. Auto-HSCT proved to be safe and beneficial for some MS patients. Further studies are needed to establish the merit of this procedure for MS patients.     

自体造血干细胞移植治疗多发性硬化中的植入综合征

目的:总结自体造血干细胞移植(auto-HSCT)治疗多发硬化(MS)过程中植入综合征(ES)的发生情况.方法:应用auto-HSCT治疗继发性MS 24例,移植前EDSS评分为5.5(4～7.5).移植方法为应用G-CSF 5 μg/kg4～6 d动员,CS-3000细胞分离机采集外周血单个核细胞,对其中18例患者进行CD34 细胞分选.BEAM方案预处理.结果:移植后外周血中性粒细胞≥0.5×109/L的平均时间为11 d(9～13).共有6例患者在移植后 8～ 12 d出现非感染性发热,体温在38～40℃,持续1～5 d.其中2例伴皮肤充血性皮疹,持续4～5 d.短疗程应用皮质激素或仅对症治疗后上述症状均可缓解.结论:在auto-HSCT后中性粒细胞恢复期出现发热、皮疹时,应考虑ES的诊断,短疗程激素治疗对轻度ES有效,但应警惕出现呼吸衰竭或多器官衰竭的可能.     

An Update on Stem Cell Transplantation in Autoimmune Rheumatologic Disorders

Stem cell transplant (SCT) has long been the standard of care for several hematologic, immunodeficient, and oncologic disorders. Recently, SCT has become an increasingly utilized therapy for refractory autoimmune rheumatologic disorders (ARDs). The efficacy of SCT in ARDs has been attributed to resetting an aberrant immune system either through direct immune replacement with hematopoietic stem cells or through immunomodulation with mesenchymal stem cells. Among ARDs, refractory systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are the most common indications for SCT. SCT has also been used in refractory rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory myopathies, antiphospholipid syndrome, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and pediatric ARDs. Complete responses have been reported in approximately 30?% of patients in all disease categories. Transplant-related mortality, however, remains a concern. Future large multi-center prospective randomized clinical trials will help to better define the specific role of SCT in the treatment of patients with ARDs.     

Genetics of Systemic Sclerosis: An Update

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by vasculopathy, immune cell activation, and fibrosis of the skin and internal organs. Over the past few years, a role for genetics in the susceptibility for SSc has been established. This review aims to provide an update on the progress made in the past year or so within the field of SSc genetics research. This year has been of particular interest due to the publication of a large genome-wide association study, further investigations into gene–gene interactions, and the tendency to validate genetic results in functional models.     

Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in India-2017 Annual Update

There has been a steady rise in number of transplant centers in India over last few years. This year many papers related to bone marrow transplants were presented in annual conference of Indian society of Hematology and Transfusion Medicine. All oral and poster presentations which were published were reviewed. There were many publications on autologous transplant, allogeneic transplant and lab aspects of transplant. Centers shared their data on autologous transplants in newly set-up units with resource constraints with good outcomes. Encouraging data from across India is likely to boost more centers to set up transplant centers.     

Recent Developments in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma

Multiple myeloma (MM) is often successfully controlled with conventional chemotherapy; however, complete remissions are uncommon, and cure is rare. High-dose therapy followed by administration of autologous or allogeneic stem cells, used for the treatment of MM in the past 15 years, is promising as a means of increasing remission rates and improving survival. Autologous transplantation has not always demonstrated survival benefits in randomized studies because most of the patients receiving transplants have relapses, whereas patients given conventional therapy can receive salvage transplants when relapse occurs. Efforts to improve the results of autologous transplantation include targeted radiation, tandem transplantation, and posttransplantation immunotherapy. Only allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation is potentially curative, owing to a graft-versus-myeloma effect. Although patients who receive either allogeneic or autologous stem cell transplants for MM have similar 3- to 5-year survival rates, only allograft recipients appear to enjoy long-term disease-free survival. High transplantation-related mortality associated with allogeneic stem cell transplantation is currently the major limitation to wider use of this potentially curative modality. Strategies designed to improve the therapeutic index of allografts include the use of nonablative conditioning regimens, peripheral blood cells rather than bone marrow, graft engineering, and targeted conditioning therapies, such as bone-seeking radioisotopes.     

Update on the Gastrointestinal Microbiome in Systemic Sclerosis

Purpose of Review

Accumulating evidence suggests that gut microbiota affect the development and function of the immune system and may play a role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent studies reporting gastrointestinal microbiota aberrations associated with the systemic sclerosis disease state.

Recent Findings

The studies described herein have identified common changes in gut microbial composition. Specifically, patients with SSc have decreased abundance of beneficial commensal genera (e.g., Faecalibacterium, Clostridium, and Bacteroides) and increased abundance of pathobiont genera (e.g., Fusobacterium, Prevotella, Erwinia). In addition, some studies have linked specific genera with the severity of gastrointestinal symptoms in systemic sclerosis.

Summary

More research is needed to further characterize the gastrointestinal microbiota in systemic sclerosis and understand how microbiota perturbations can affect inflammation, fibrosis, and clinical outcomes. Interventional studies aimed at addressing/correcting these perturbations, either through dietary modification, pro/pre-biotic supplementation, or fecal transplantation, may lead to improved outcomes for patients with systemic sclerosis.

     

自体外周血造血干细胞移植治疗难治性系统性红斑狼疮

目的:探讨自体外周血造血干细胞移植(APBSCT)治疗难治性系统性红斑狼疮(SLE)的临床疗效。方法:用APBSCT治疗4例难治性SLE。干细胞动员应用环磷酰胺(CTX)4g/m2,分两天应用和粒细胞集落刺激因子(G-CSF)5~10μg/kg·d-1;预处理方案包括CTX(50mg/kg·d-1,-6、-5、-4、-3d),抗胸腺细胞球蛋白(ATG15~20mg/kg·d-1,-2、-1、 1、 2d)。结果:4例患者均获得造血重建,中性粒细胞>0.5×109/L,血小板>20×109/L的中位数时间分别是9d,10d;SLE的临床表现明显减轻,尿蛋白减少或消失,自身抗体转阴或滴度减低,泼尼松用量<10mg/d;无移植相关死亡。结论:APBSCT治疗难治性SLE近期疗效显著,造血重建恢复迅速,安全有效,远期疗效尚需进一步观察。     

Stem Cell Transplantation for Aplastic Anemia

Survival of patients with aplastic anemia treated with transplantation of bone marrow has improved significantly over the past several decades. Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for patients with HLA-identical siblings is now the first-line therapy, and long-term survival of approximately 90% can be expected with cyclophosphamide/antithymocyte globulin conditioning and postgrafting methotrexate/cyclosporine immunosuppression. The outcome of unrelated donor BMT has also improved significantly with the identification of a preparative regimen with less toxicity combined with the development of high-resolution DNA-based HLA typing to identify the optimal unrelated marrow donor. Patients with fully HLA-matched unrelated donors should be considered candidates for transplantation prior to exposure to repeat courses of immunosuppression. Future progress in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for aplastic anemia will be directed toward further decreasing the acute toxicity and decreasing the delayed effects of the conditioning regimens while maintaining highly reliable rates of sustained engraftment with prevention of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease.     

Stem Cell Update: Highlights from the 2010 Lugano Stem Cell Meeting

The 2010 edition of the Lugano Stem Cell Meeting, under the auspices of the Swiss center of excellence in cardiovascular diseases “Cardiocentro Ticino” and the Swiss Stem Cell Foundation, offered an update on clinical, translational, and biotechnological advances in regenerative science and medicine pertinent to cardiovascular applications. Highlights from the international forum ranged from innate mechanisms of heart repair, safety, and efficacy of ongoing and completed clinical trials, novel generations of stem cell biologics, bioengineered platforms, and regulatory processes. In the emerging era of regenerative medicine, accelerating the critical path from discovery to product development will require integrated multidisciplinary teams to ensure timely translation of new knowledge into validated algorithms for practice adoption.     

Peripheral Blood Stem Cell Transplantation

High dose chemo/radiotherapy requiring autologous haemopoietic stem cell support is increasingly used in a variety of malignant disorders. Mobilised peripheral blood stem cells (PBSC) have largely replaced the use of autologous bone marrow due to more rapid haemopoietic reconstitution with less resource use including blood and platelet transfusion requirements. PBSC graft adequacy is monitored by CD34+ cell and granulocyte-monocyte-colony-forming-cell measurements, and thresholds for rapid engraftment have been determined. Studies are in progress to determine the optimal mobilisation regimens that will permit the achievement of the necessary progenitor thresholds with only one or two aphereses. This will facilitate the use of multiple cycles of high dose therapy and possibly the use of PBSC collected by venesection rather than apheresis. PBSC are also increasingly used in the allogeneic setting where specific mobilisation protocols not using cytotoxic drugs are employed. These technical advances will aid the execution of large trials to determine the efficacy of high dose therapy.     

Cardiac Transplantation in a Pediatric Patient with Systemic Sclerosis

Introduction. Diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis (SSc) is rare in children, but has a poor prognosis when cardiomyopathy is present. Methods. We reviewed the case of a 14‐year‐old female with progressive skin thickening/tightness and dyspnea on exertion who was diagnosed with SSc. Results. Our patient was found to have severe restrictive cardiomyopathy with poor left ventricular systolic function (ejection fraction = 20%), unresponsive to the immunosuppression used to treat her SSc. There was no evidence of pulmonary fibrosis. The patient underwent orthotopic cardiac transplantation, with improvement in systemic symptoms. Two years after transplantation, she had elevated filling pressures during a surveillance catheterization, with no evidence of cellular rejection or coronary artery vasculopathy. Four months later, she developed severe ventricular dysfunction and dyspnea, despite a negative biopsy and negative C4d immunofluorescence staining. Her immunosuppression was intensified with improvement of cardiac function. Despite this, 1 month later she had sudden pulseless cardiac arrest from which she could not be revived. The family declined an autopsy. Discussion. We report a 14‐year‐old female with SSc who had cardiac transplantation. The etiology behind her recurrent restrictive physiology, cardiac dysfunction, and subsequent cardiac arrest remains unclear.     

Reduced-Intensity Conditioning Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation for Multiple Myeloma: Results from the Japan Myeloma Study Group

We conducted a retrospective survey of multiple myeloma (MM) patients who underwent reduced-intensity conditioning allogeneic stem cell transplantation (RIST) at 11 hospitals participating in the Japan Myeloma Study Group. Forty-five patients (median age, 53 years) were included in this study. The conditioning regimen consisted of a fludarabine-based regimen in 24 patients and a regimen based on total body irradiation (1-2 Gy) in 18 patients. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis consisted of cyclosporine and tacrolimus in 28 and 17 patients, respectively. All patients showed myeloid engraftment. Complete chimerism was obtained in 42 patients. Grade II to IV acute GVHD developed in 28 (65%) of 43 patients evaluated, and chronic GVHD developed in 31 (76%) of 41 patients. Early death before day 100 was observed in 4 patients (8.8%). A complete response (CR) was obtained in 12 patients. The factors affecting overall survival were severe acute GVHD and the response after RIST. To date, 18 patients are alive, with 9 patients remaining in CR at a median follow-up of 25 months. The overall and progression-free survival rates at 3 years were 38.5% and 18.8%, respectively. These observations suggest that RIST is feasible with reliable donor engraftment and relatively low transplantation-related mortality in Japanese MM patients.