Novel drug regimen can improve stem cell transplantation outcomes

Adding bortezomib (Velcade) to standard preventive therapy for graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD) results in improved outcomes for patients receiving stem cell transplants from mismatched and unrelated donors, according to researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. In a new phase 2 trial, patients treated with bortezomib had lower rates of severe acute GVHD and treatment-related mortality, and experienced better one-year overall survival than has been seen historically with such patients receiving standard preventive therapy, the investigators reported at the American Society of Hematology annual meeting. Read more here.