Real-world outcomes of belumosudil in treatment-refractory cGvHD

Results from a retrospective, single-center study, evaluating the efficacy and safety of belumosudil in adults with moderate–severe treatment-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD; N = 31) after ≥2 prior systemic lines of therapy, were published in Annals of Hematology by Leung et al. The primary endpoints were overall response rate (ORR) and adverse events (AEs). 

Key data: Asian patients constituted 97% of the cohort. The ORR among evaluable patients (n = 29) was 52% (complete response, 7%; partial response, 45%). Of the 15 responders, median time to response was 2.1 months (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6–5.7) and the median duration of response was 36.8 weeks (95% CI, 16.4–not reached). Grade ≥3 AEs occurred in four patients. Although 90% of patients had received prior ruxolitinib, its concomitant use with belumosudil was associated with a higher rate of ≥50% immunosuppressant dose reduction (hazard ratio [HR], 5.62; p = 0.007).

Key learning: In real-world clinical practice, belumosudil demonstrates promising efficacy and a well-tolerated safety profile in patients with predominantly ruxolitinib-refractory cGvHD.