title: Low-dose methotrexate for the treatment of graft-versus-host disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.
abstract: Methotrexate (MTX) is commonly used in the prophylaxis of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). In order to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose MTX treatment in patients with GVHD after allo-HSCT, 38 patients with acute GVHD (aGVHD), chronic GVHD (cGVHD) or GVHD post-donor lymphocyte infusion (post-DLI GVHD) after allo-HSCT received intravenous MTX at a dose of 5 or 10 mg every 5-- days until a complete or partial response was seen, or there was treatment failure or intolerable side effects. The overall response rate was 94.7% (18/19 patients) in patients with aGVHD, 76.2% (16/21 patients) in patients with cGVHD and 2/2 in patients with post-DLI GVHD. The response rate for GVHD involving various organs was 100% in skin, 75% in gut, 55.6% in liver, 75% in mouth and 100% in the eye, among all enrolled patients. Side effects were minor. Short-term, low-dose MTX is a tolerable and an effective regimen for patients with aGVHD, cGVHD or post-DLI GVHD after allo-HSCT.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Hematology, Peking University, People'Hospital, Beijing, China. xjhrm@medmail.com.cn
authors.forename: X-J
authors.initials: XJ
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Q
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jiang
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lu
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D019337:Hematologic Neoplasms / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D017710:Lymphocyte Transfusion; D008297:Male; D008727:Methotrexate / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000633:toxicity; D008875:Middle Aged; D011292:Premedication; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D008727:Methotrexate