Treatment of acute graft-versus-host disease with PUVA (psoralen and ultraviolet irradiation): results of a pilot study

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) is a frequent and major complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation, For many years psoralen and ultraviolet (UV)-A light have been used in the treatment of chronic cutaneous graft-versus-host disease, but few patients have received PUVA therapy for aGVHD, We assessed 20 patients who received PUVA therapy for acute cutaneous GVHD (grade 2-4), Seven patients showed additional organ manifestations (liver, gut). To better quantify the cutaneous lesions, a new scoring system was introduced: intensity of erythema (0-3) x %body surface + size of bullae (4-5) x %body surface affected. All patients received prednisolone and PUVA for treatment of aGVHD. Fifteen patients (75%), 12 with manifestations restricted to the skin, responded by score classification (average time to a 50% score reduction: 39 days) and reduction of the dosage of prednisolone (average time to a 50% prednisolone reduction: 35 days). PUVA treatment was well tolerated and might play a role in the therapy of acute cutaneous GVHD.