Sitagliptin may cut risk of graft-versus-host disease

Reuters Health - 06/01/2021 - Adding the type-2 diabetes drug sitagliptin to tacrolimus and sirolimus appears to lower the risk of graft-versus-host disease in people who receive peripheral-blood stem-cell transplants, according to the results of a nonrandomized phase-2 study. At the 100-day mark, the rate of grades II to IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) was 5% among the 36 volunteers. The rate of grades III to IV disease was 3%. The usual risk historically ranges from 34% to 51%, researchers note in the New England Journal of Medicine. After one year, 26% had suffered a relapse and 37% had developed chronic GVHD. Relapse-free survival was 46%. The researchers said they didn't see any side effects attributable to the drug, although it was given at a much higher dose of 600 mg twice daily, and there were no instances of hypoglycemia. "This is a novel target for prevention of acute graft-versus-host disease and the results look really promising,...

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Posted on 6 January, 202118 January, 2021