Sclerodermatous manifestation of chronic graft versus host disease: therapy challenges

Abstract

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is one of the most serious complications after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT). It varies between patients, often leading to systemic and functional limitations. It can be challenging considering the heterogeneity of patients. The aim of this paper was to present clinical aspects of sclerodermatous manifestation of cGvHD as a complication of allo-HCT in pediatric patients. We diagnosed three patients with different sclerodermatous skin involvement and cGvHD features. The treatment applied varied among the patients, and was based on currently available standards of care. We analyzed the effectiveness of systemic steroid therapy, extracorporeal photopheresis, and ruxolitinib.All patients achieved an improvement in skin lesions and quality of life, based on an individualized treatment approach.