Science Highlights
Published on September 30, 2025
Ixazomib's role in cGvHD prevention and biomarker identification
by Blood Advances
Caballero-Velázquez T, Delgado-Serrano J, López-Corral L, et al. Ixazomib Decreases the Risk of Chronic Graft-Versus-Host-Disease: Identification of cGVHD Biomarkers. Blood Advances. 2025; (doi: 10.1182/bloodadvances.2025016284).
Research shows that ixazomib prevents development of moderate/severe chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD), a complication of allogeneic transplantation (allo-HSCT) that investigators say can be predicted via biomarkers. The study included 73 patients in the late phases of allo-HSCT, some of whom were randomized to 4 mg of ixazomib every 28 days starting on day +100. At 1-year follow-up, moderate/severe cGVHD had occurred in the intervention group at a cumulative rate of 3.23% compared with 30.2% in the control cohort. Similarly, the rates at 2-year follow-up were 13% and 43%, respectively. The 2-year outcome of cGVHD and relapse-free survival, measured at 81% for ixazomib recipients and 49% for nonusers, also favored ixazomib. Researchers identified biological patterns — higher levels of STAT3 and p38 phosphorylation in T cells, greater share of B cells affected by immunoglobulin isotype switching, and circulating plasma cells on day +180 — that correlated with an elevated risk of developing moderate/severe cGVHD. Using flow cytometry to detect these biomarkers, they reported, can help predict which patients are most at risk for the complication.
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