MAGIC Ruxolitinib for aGVHD

• Ruxolitinib (Drug), also known as Jakafi: Ruxolitinib twice daily for 56 days followed by a short taper Given orally
• Methylprednisolone (Drug), also known as Depo-Medrol, Medrol, Solu-Medrol: Starting dose 2 mg/kg/d for at least three days, then taper Given IV or orally

Primary outcomes

• Day 28 Treatment Response [28 days]: Day 28 response to treatment defined as complete (CR), very good partial (VGPR), or partial (PR) response without intervening therapy or death to ruxolitinib monotherapy. CR - All evaluable organs (skin, liver, GI tract) stage 0. For a response to be scored as CR, the patient must be in CR on the date of assessment and have had no intervening additional GVHD therapy. VGPR - Stage 0 liver and GI and residual stage 1 skin GVHD. For a response to be scored as VGPR, the patient must be in VGPR on the date of assessment and have had no intervening additional GVHD therapy. PR - An improvement by one or more stages in one or more organ involved with GVHD symptoms without worsening in others. For a response to be scored as PR, the patient must be in PR on the date of assessment and have had no intervening additional GVHD therapy.

Secondary outcomes

• Steroid-refractory GVHD [28 days]: Steroid Refractory (SR) GVHD is defined as GVHD that either does not achieve a clinical response or an additional line of therapy is initiated by day 28 from the initiation of systemic steroid therapy for non-responsive GVHD.
• Durable response at day 56 [56 days]: Durable response at day 56 is defined as CR, VGPR, or PR by day 28 and no GVHD flare, intervening treatment or death by day 56
• GVHD flares [90 days]: Flare is defined as an increase in acute GVHD severity in at least one target organ by at least one stage that is treated with an additional line of treatment or an increase in steroid dose in methylprednisolone equivalents (MPE) by at least 25%
• Cumulative systemic corticosteroid dose [90 days]
• Chronic GVHD requiring systemic steroid treatment [1 year]
• Overall survival [1 year]: OS (overall survival) - defined as the time from the enrollment to death
• Non-relapse mortality [1 year]: Non-relapse mortality (NRM) - defined as any death that occurs after HCT not attributable to relapse of the underlying disease for transplant
• Relapse [1 year]: Relapse - defined as reoccurrence of the underlying disease for transplant

Sex: All, ages: 18 Years to any

Inclusion Criteria:

* Standard risk cohort: Minnesota standard risk GVHD (except patients with grade I \[<50% BSA rash\])
* High risk cohort: Minnesota high risk GVHD 3 GVHD that developed after DLI for mixed chimerism or poor graft function is allowed
* No prior systemic acute GVHD treatment. Topical or non-absorbed steroids are permitted.
* All donor types, HLA-matches, conditioning regimens, or GVHD prophylaxis strategies are acceptable
* ≥18 years of age
* Standard risk cohort: Hematopoietic engraftment with absolute neutrophil count (ANC) ≥ 1000/μL and platelet count ≥20,000. Use of growth factor supplementation and transfusions to maintain adequate hematologic parameters are allowed.
* High risk cohort: Hematopoietic engraftment with ANC ≥ 500/uL and platelet count ≥20,000. Use of growth factor supplementation and transfusions to maintain adequate hematologic parameters are allowed.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Systemic treatment with ruxolitinib or any other JAK inhibitor within 7 days of study entry
* Prior use of ruxolitinib to treat GVHD at any time
* Relapsed, progressing or persistent malignancy requiring withdrawal of systemic immunosuppression
* Relapse prior to development of GVHD unless subsequently in remission for at least 3 months
* GVHD that developed after DLI for relapse is not allowed without study PI or medical monitor approval
* Uncontrolled infection (i.e., progressive symptoms related to infection despite treatment or persistently positive microbiological cultures despite treatment or any other evidence of severe sepsis)
* Severe organ dysfunction within 3 days of enrollment including requirement for dialysis, mechanical ventilation, continuous BiPAP, or continuous high flow oxygen by nasal cannula, or total bilirubin ≥ 3x upper limit of normal not due to GVHD.
* A clinical presentation resembling de novo chronic GVHD or overlap syndrome developing before or present at the time of enrollment (except for mild oral or ocular GVHD)
* Corticosteroids >10 mg/day methylprednisolone (or other methylprednisolone equivalent, MPE) for any indication within 5 days before the onset of acute GVHD except for adrenal insufficiency or premedication for transfusions/IV meds
* Participation in clinical trials using experimental agents not approved by the FDA for any indication within 14 days of enrollment or five half-lives, whichever is longer provided any prior adverse events have improved to ≤grade 1
* Patients who are pregnant or nursing
* History of allergic reaction to ruxolitinib or any JAK inhibitor

• John Levine, MD, MS, Principal investigator, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

NIH grants: P01CA039542