This is a Phase I, single arm, open label, single center pilot study to assess a reduced-intensity conditioning regimen, bone marrow transplantation with high dose cyclophosphamide (PTCy) in recipients with refractory systemic sclerosis. This study expects to enroll 15 donor/recipient pairs for a total of 30 participants. The primary objective of this study is to assess the safety of using a reduced intensity condition (RIC) preparative regimen bone marrow transplant (BMT) with post-transplant cyclophosphamide for graft vs host disease (GVHD) prophylaxis as treatment for patients with scleroderma. Safety events are grade III-IV GVHD and treatment related mortality within 1 year. Eligibility includes patients \>18 years who are eligible for transplantation according to the BMT Policy Manual, meet the 2013 ACR/EULAR Criteria for Systemic Sclerosis and display active diffuse cutaneous disease. The trial also includes analyses of the effects of BMT on skeletal and cardiac muscle using systemic scleroderma serum biomarkers of CK, aldolase, and troponin as well as periodic monitoring of circulating scleroderma auto-antibody titers, autoreactive T cells, and flow cytometric signatures over the one-year study period to correlate with response.
The purpose of this study is to find out if the drug cyclophosphamide given after bone marrow transplantation is safe and effective in patients with systemic sclerosis that have not responded to other standard treatments. Systemic sclerosis (scleroderma) is a systemic autoimmune disease associated with high morbidity and mortality, with an estimated prevalence of 50-300 per million persons/year and incidence of 2.3-22.9 per million persons/year. Currently there exists no cure for scleroderma, and medical management is entirely off-label, with no FDA approved drugs for this condition. Treatment is based on symptom management focused on the specific organ system affected such as the lung, skin, musculoskeletal, cardiac, renal, or gastrointestinal systems. Interest in improving response rates and decreasing relapse has turned attention toward allogeneic stem cell transplantation (allo-BMT). The possibility of maintaining control of autoimmunity by means of mixed chimerism in these autoimmune diseases is quite important. These patients may not need full engraftment to have disease modification. There is still concern about the morbidity GVHD for these patients in the allogeneic setting as well as a potentially limited number of available donors. Towards this end, the study was developed with an approach to BMT using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) that allows safe performance of allogeneic BMT from matched, mismatched, unrelated or haploidentical donors. Given that there are responses of refractory systemic sclerosis (SSc) to immunosuppressive therapy in some form, eligible patients will be required to have experienced disease progression despite at least one course of immunosuppressive therapy. In general, this will be defined as progression of skin or lung disease despite optimal courses of therapy or failure to tolerate therapeutic doses of immunosuppressive therapy. Potential donors will be excluded if the donors report a history of autoimmunity. The rationale for this comes from the knowledge that gender, a genetically controlled factor, plays a role in the incidence of autoimmune disease. The study regimen includes several days of chemotherapy, immunosuppressant, and a single dose of radiation followed by the bone marrow transplant. After the transplant, recipient patients will receive two doses of the intravenous (IV, through a vein) chemotherapy cyclophosphamide and two oral medications to prevent graft versus host disease and to aid in bone marrow engraftment. After a while, the anti-rejection medications are stopped. During this time, a chimerism assay that defines how much of the blood comes from donor cells and how much of the blood comes from the recipient will be performed at four weeks, eight weeks, six months, one year after the transplant. This test will tell if the donor's transplanted cells are surviving long term in the recipient. If a recipient participant is eligible, the study regimen will begin about 30 days before bone marrow transplantation and participation will continue for up to 1 year after transplant.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
1
The preparative regimen: * Thymoglobulin 0.5 mg/kg IV day -9 * Thymoglobulin 2 mg/kg IV Days -8, -7 * Cyclophosphamide (Cy) 14.5 mg/kg IV Days -6,-5 * Fludarabine 30 mg/m2 IV Days -6, -5, -4, -3,-2 * Total body irradiation (TBI) 400cGy * Day 0- infusion of unmanipulated bone marrow The GVHD prophylaxis regimen: * Cy 50 mg/kg IV Days 3, 4 * Tacrolimus (FK-506) (IV or oral (po)) beginning Day 5 with dose adjusted to maintain a trough level of 5-15 ng/mL. Sirolimus may be substituted for tacrolimus. * Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) 15 mg/kg po TID, maximum dose 1 g po TID Day 5 - Day 35 * Filgrastim (G-CSF) 5 µg/kg SQ daily beginning Day 5 until absolute neutrophil (ANC) is greater than 1000/µl over at least 2 days. Supportive care: * Mesna- 10 mg/kg/ IV Day 3, 4 * Patients will receive infection prophylaxis and treatment according to institutional guidelines.
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Acute Graft vs Host disease (GVHD) incidence
Number of safety events defined as CTCAE grade III-IV acute GVHD.
Time frame: 1 year
Chronic Graft vs Host disease (GVHD) incidence
Number of participants with chronic GVHD requiring systemic immune suppression.
Time frame: 1 year
Disease relapse or progression incidence
Number of participants diagnosed with disease relapse or progression.
Time frame: 1 year
Incidence of death
Number of participant deaths by any cause.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- pulmonary hypertension
Number of participants with a new diagnosis of pulmonary hypertension by right heart cardiac catheterization (mean PAP\>25 mmHg).
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- cardiomyopathy
Number of participants with a new diagnosis of cardiomyopathy (Left ventricular function \<30% on ECHO).
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- increased mRSS scoring in diffuse scleroderma patients
Number of participants initially diagnosed with diffuse scleroderma with an increase in mRSS score by 5 points.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- renal crisis
Number of participants with new renal crisis.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- pulmonary function assessment
Number of participant who experience a 10% or greater decrease in forced vital capacity (FVC) OR a 5-10% decrease in FVC AND 15% or greater decrease in diffusing capacity of the lungs for carbon monoxide (DLCO).
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- CTCAE v5 Grade 3 or higher toxicities
Number of grade 3 or higher toxicity events based on CTCAE v5.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- incidence of serious infections
Number of grade 3 or higher infections based on CTCAE v5 criteria.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- increased rate of revised Minnesota high risk aGVHD
Number participants with increased high risk aGVHD according to revised Minnesota high risk aGVHD criteria.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- proportion off immunosuppression without GVHD or disease recurrence
Proportion of participants who are off of immunosuppression without GVHD or disease recurrence at 12 months post transplantation.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- hematologic recovery
Number of participants who have experienced hematologic recovery at 12 months based on neutrophil and platelet counts.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- donor cell engraftment
Number of participants who experience donor cell engraftment based on chimerism reports.
Time frame: 1 year
Event free survival- transplant related death
Number of participant who die and whose death are attributed to transplant.
Time frame: 1 year
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