A1 Refereed original research article in a scientific journal
Improved Survival with Ursodeoxycholic Acid Prophylaxis in Allogeneic Stem Cell Transplantation: Long-Term Follow-Up of a Randomized Study
Authors: Tapani Ruutu, Eeva Juvonen, Mats Remberger, Kari Remes, Liisa Volin, Jonas Mattsson, Anne Nihtinen, Hans Hägglund, Olle Ringdén; on behalf of the Nordic Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Publication year: 2014
Journal: Biology of Blood and Marrow Transplantation
Volume: 20
Issue: 1
First page : 135
Last page: 138
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbmt.2013.10.014
We report the long-term results of a prospective randomized study on the use of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) for prevention of hepatic complications after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Two hundred forty-two patients, 232 with malignant disease, were randomized to receive (n = 123) or not to receive (n = 119) UDCA from the beginning of the conditioning until 90 days post-transplantation. The results were reported after 1-year follow-up. UDCA administration reduced significantly the proportion of patients developing high serum bilirubin levels as well as the incidence of severe acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), liver GVHD, and intestinal GVHD. In the UDCA prophylaxis group, nonrelapse mortality (NRM) was
lower and overall survival better than in the control group. After a 10-year follow-up, the difference in the survival and NRM in favor of the UDCA-treated group, seen at 1 year, was maintained (survival 48% versus 38%, P = .037; NRM 28% versus 41%, P ¼=.01). A landmark analysis in patients surviving at 1 year posttransplantation showed no significant differences between the study groups in the long-term follow-up in chronic GVHD, relapse rate, NRM, disease-free survival, or overall survival. These long-term results continue to support the useful role of UDCA in the prevention of transplant-related complications in allogeneic transplantation.