Itacitinib appears effective for acute graft-versus-host disease
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A short course of itacitinib induced high response rates among patients with low-risk acute graft-versus-host disease, according to study results.
The responses with itacitinib (INCB039110, Incyte) — a Janus kinase 1 inhibitor — occurred faster than those induced by systemic corticosteroids, the standard treatment in this setting.
Long-term outcomes appeared comparable between itacitinib and systemic corticosteroids, with similar risk for chronic GVHD, findings presented at ASH Annual Meeting and Exposition showed.
However, patients treated with itacitinib exhibited significantly lower risk for severe leukopenia or serious infections.
Healio spoke with researcher Aaron Etra, MD — assistant professor of medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and member of The Tisch Cancer Institute — about the study results and their potential implications.