Abstract
Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a frequent and major complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. For many years psoralen and ultraviolet (UV)-A light have been used in the treatment of chronic cutaneous graft-versus-host disease, but few patients have received PUVA therapy for aGVHD. We assessed 20 patients who received PUVA therapy for acute cutaneous GVHD (grade 2–4). Seven patients showed additional organ manifestations (liver, gut). To better quantify the cutaneous lesions, a new scoring system was introduced: intensity of erythema (0–3) × %body surface + size of bullae (4–5) × %body surface affected. All patients received prednisolone and PUVA for treatment of aGVHD. Fifteen patients (75%), 12 with manifestations restricted to the skin, responded by score classification (average time to a 50% score reduction: 39 days) and reduction of the dosage of prednisolone (average time to a 50% prednisolone reduction: 35 days). PUVA treatment was well tolerated and might play a role in the therapy of acute cutaneous GVHD.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Rent or buy this article
Prices vary by article type
from$1.95
to$39.95
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wiesmann, A., Weller, A., Lischka, G. et al. Treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease with PUVA (psoralen and ultraviolet irradiation): results of a pilot study. Bone Marrow Transplant 23, 151–155 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1701537
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1701537
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Efficacy of narrow band UVB in the treatment of cutaneous GvHD: an Indian experience
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2016)
-
UVA (UVA-1) therapy for the treatment of acute GVHD of the skin
Bone Marrow Transplantation (2010)