Oral Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Current Treatment, and Emerging Therapies

Joe T Nguyen; Maryam Jessri; Ana C Costa-da-Silva; Rubina Sharma; Jacqueline W Mays; Nathaniel S Treister

doi:10.3390/ijms251910411

Oral Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease: Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, Current Treatment, and Emerging Therapies

Int J Mol Sci. 2024 Sep 27;25(19):10411. doi: 10.3390/ijms251910411.

Authors

Joe T Nguyen^{1

2}, Maryam Jessri^{3

4}, Ana C Costa-da-Silva², Rubina Sharma², Jacqueline W Mays², Nathaniel S Treister^{5

6}

Affiliations

¹ Nguyen Laboratory, Head and Neck Cancer Section, Surgical Oncology Program, Center for Cancer Research, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
² Oral Immunobiology Unit, National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA.
³ Metro North Hospital and Health Service, Queensland Health, Brisbane, QLD 4029, Australia.
⁴ Department of Oral Medicine and Pathology, School of Dentistry, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD 4072, Australia.
⁵ Division of Oral Medicine and Dentistry, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
⁶ Department of Oral Medicine, Infection and Immunity, Harvard School of Dental Medicine, Boston, MA 02114, USA.

Abstract

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGvHD) is a multisystem disorder that occurs in recipients of allogeneic hematopoietic (alloHCT) stem cell transplants and is characterized by both inflammatory and fibrotic manifestations. It begins with the recognition of host tissues by the non-self (allogeneic) graft and progresses to tissue inflammation, organ dysfunction and fibrosis throughout the body. Oral cavity manifestations of cGVHD include mucosal features, salivary gland dysfunction and fibrosis. This review synthesizes current knowledge on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and management of oral cGVHD, with a focus on emerging trends and novel therapeutics. Data from various clinical studies and expert consensus are integrated to provide a comprehensive overview.

Keywords: belumosudil; cGVHD; chronic graft-versus-host-disease; ibrutinib; oral cGVHD; oral chronic graft-versus-host-disease; ruxolitinib.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

Chronic Disease
Graft vs Host Disease* / diagnosis
Graft vs Host Disease* / etiology
Graft vs Host Disease* / therapy
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation* / adverse effects
Humans
Mouth Diseases / diagnosis
Mouth Diseases / etiology
Mouth Diseases / therapy
Transplantation, Homologous

Grants and funding

The Mays laboratory is funded by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health. The Nguyen laboratory is funded by the Intramural Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health. N.S.T. is supported by the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, the National Institutes of Health under award number R01DE028336. Funders did not have any role in data collection, interpretation, or reporting. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.