Guidelines

ERS/EBMT clinical practice guideline on treatment of pulmonary chronic graft-versus-host disease in adults

Saskia Bos, John Murray, Monia Marchetti, Guang-Shing Cheng, Anne Bergeron, Daniel Wolff, Clare Sander, Akshay Sharma, Sherif M. Badawy, Zinaida Peric, Agnieszka Piekarska, Joseph Pidala, Kavita Raj, Olaf Penack, Samar Kulkarni, Molly Beestrum, Andrea Linke, Matthew Rutter, Courtney Coleman, Thomy Tonia, Hélène Schoemans, Daiana Stolz, Robin Vos

Year:

2024

Type:

Clinical practice guidelines

Produced by:

ERS / EBMT

European Respiratory Journal 2024; DOI: 10.1183/13993003.01727-2023

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is a common complication after allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation, characterised by a broad disease spectrum that can affect virtually any organ. Although pulmonary cGvHD is a less common manifestation, it is of great concern due to its severity and poor prognosis. Optimal management of patients with pulmonary cGvHD is complicated and no standardised approach is available.

The purpose of this joint European Respiratory Society and European Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation Task Force was to develop evidence-based recommendations regarding the treatment of pulmonary cGvHD phenotype bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome in adults. A multidisciplinary group representing specialists in haematology, respiratory medicine, methodology as well as patient advocates formulated eight PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) and two narrative questions. Following the ERS standardised methodology, we conducted systematic reviews to address these questions and used the GRADE (Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation) approach to develop recommendations.

The resulting guideline addresses common therapeutic options (inhalation therapy, fluticasone-azithromycin-montelukast, imatinib, ibrutinib, ruxolitinib, belumosudil, extracorporeal photopheresis and lung transplantation), as well as other aspects of general management, such as lung functional and radiological follow-up and pulmonary rehabilitation, for adults with pulmonary cGvHD phenotype bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome. These recommendations include important advancements that could be incorporated in the management of adults with pulmonary cGvHD, primarily aimed at improving and standardising treatment and improving outcomes.

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