Comparison of characteristics and outcomes of late acute and NIH chronic GVHD between Japanese and white patients

Although differences in the incidence of chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) across the races have been suggested, these have not been systematically investigated. This study compared the incidence, sites, severity, and outcomes of late acute GVHD and chronic GVHD according to National Institutes of Health (NIH) consensus criteria between Japanese (n = 413) and white (n = 708) patients after first allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Analysis was stratified according to bone marrow transplantation (BMT) or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Japanese patients, compared with white patients, had a similar incidence of late acute GVHD (BMT, 19% vs 16%; PBSCT, 19% vs 16%) but experienced more frequent liver late acute GVHD as defined by transaminase elevation (BMT, 79% vs 8%; PBSCT, 92% vs 33%) and less frequent gastrointestinal late acute GVHD (BMT, 11% vs 58%; PBSCT, 20% vs 68%). Japanese patients were more likely to discontinue systemic immunosuppression after late acute GVHD than white patients (hazard ratio, 3.68; 95% confidence interval, 1.96-6.94; P < .001). Japanese patients, compared with white patients, had a lower incidence of chronic GVHD (BMT, 15% vs 30% [P = .002]; PBSCT, 37% vs 45% [P < .001]) and experienced more frequent chronic GVHD of the mouth, eyes, and liver and less frequent gastrointestinal chronic GVHD. The duration of immunosuppressive treatment of NIH chronic GVHD was similar between the races. These differences could not be entirely attributed to practice variation between the centers. This study shows that the incidence, affected sites, severity, and clinical outcomes of late acute GVHD and NIH chronic GVHD differ between Japanese and white patients.