Extracorporeal Photoimmune Therapy With UVADEX for the Treatment of Acute Graft Versus-Host Disease

Inclusion Criteria

• •1. Signed informed consent must be obtained prior to conducting any study procedure.
• •2. Patients must be greater than or equal to 18 years old and weigh greater than or equal to 40 kg (88 lb).
• •3. Patients must have received an allogeneic hematopoietic BMT or PBSCT with myeloablative or reduced-intensity conditioning and have a new onset of acute GvHD, Grades II to III, which includes the skin and developed within 100 days following an allo-HPCT.
• •4. Patients must have received an allogeneic hematopoietic BMT or PBSCT from a related or unrelated donor that is matched at a minimum at the HLA-A, -B, and -DR loci (i.e., at least a 6 out of 6 match). HLA-A and -B match should be determined by serologic testing, and HLA-DR should be matched by molecular methods.
• •5. Patients must be receiving only a calcineurin inhibitor at study entry as part of their acute GvHD prophylactic regimen. Patients may have received additional immunosuppressants for acute GvHD prophylaxis prior to study entry.
• •6. Patients must have a Karnofsky performance greater than or equal to 50.
• •7. Patients must be able and willing to comply with all study procedures.
• •8. Patients must receive, or must have received, the first corticosteroid dose of approximately 2.0 mg/kg/day but no more than 2.5 mg/kg/day (methylprednisolone equivalent) within 24 hours of the initial diagnosis of Grade II to III acute GvHD. (Up to 2.5 mg/kg/day is allowed for inadvertent dosing fluctuations for reasons other than lack of response.)
• •9. Female patients must be one of the following: postmenopausal, surgically incapable of bearing children, practicing an acceptable method of birth control (acceptable methods include hormonal contraceptives, intrauterine device, and spermicide and barrier). Abstinence or partner/spouse sterility may also qualify at the Investigator's discretion. If a female patient is of childbearing potential, she must have a negative urine pregnancy test at screening. Male patients must also commit to using adequate contraceptive precautions (condoms). All patients (both males and females of childbearing potential) must commit to using adequate contraceptive precautions throughout their participation in the study and for at least 3 months following their last ECP treatment.