Vijaya Raj Bhatt, MBBS, was a part of a team that created new National Institutes of Health (NIH) Chronic Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD) clinical trial criteria, focused on setting research priorities and direction in the treatment of chronic GVHD guidelines.
Chronic GVHD is a common complication that occurs in one- to two-thirds of patients who undergo allogeneic stem cell transplant (transplant using donor stem cells). Serious forms of chronic GVHD can increase the risk of significant morbidity and mortality.
The guidelines were published Monday in the journal Transplantation and Cellular Therapy.
Dr. Bhatt said while there have been advances in the management of chronic GVHD with recent FDA approvals of new drugs, chronic GVHD still represents a condition with unmet needs.
"The 2020 NIH guidelines on chronic GVHD highlights gaps in knowledge, sets research priorities and provides suggestions for future clinical trial development for the treatment of chronic GVHD," said Dr. Bhatt, associate professor in the UNMC Department of Internal Medicine and medical director of UNMC’s leukemia program. "The guidelines are expected to shape how clinical trials are conducted to better understand clinical and biological effects of new treatment options and to foster a more individualized approach to treatment in the future."
Keep up your GREAT cancer work!!
Carol Russell