Clinical trials recently opened to the public are looking for insight regarding the efficacy of Tocilizumab (TCZ) in preventing graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). The disease is a serious (and unfortunately common) complication that is observed in the aftermath of an allogeneic tissue transplant. It can follow a number of procedures – typically stem cell or bone marrow transplants and other forms of tissue graft involving transplant of blood cells. The purpose of this article is to inform those who are interested in learning more about cancer clinical trials and who may want to understand GVHD with more clarity.

What Exactly Causes Graft-Versus-Host Disease?

The reasoning behind GVHD is actually quite fascinating – it is an ironic nod to the efficiency of the human body. Our blood cells are designed to fight off foreign cells; that’s how we manage to stay healthy throughout our lives without becoming susceptible to infectious agents. T-cells (types of white blood cells) are some of our most precious cells when it comes to fighting off illnesses. Interestingly enough, these T-cells tend to get passed along during a bone marrow or stem cell transplant (can be intentional or a contamination) and eventually identify the recipient’s cells as ‘foreign’ agents. This can result in the T-cells attacking the recipient’s cells and potentially causing major tissue/organ damage.

How Often Does Graft-Versus-Host Disease Occur?

Both practical use and clinical trials have shown that the frequency of GVHD is completely dependent on the similarity between the donor and the recipient during a transplant. According to PubMed Health – the chance of GVHD occurring after a person receives bone marrow or cells from an identical twin is very low, around 30-40% when the donor and recipient are related and around 60-80% when the donor and recipient are not related.

These numbers pose a significant problem mainly because not all cancer patients have relatives who are available to donate marrow or cells. Even a 30-40% chance of contracting GVHD after receiving from a relative is not good news for any cancer patient, which is why many doctors and pharmacists are rigorously seeking solutions via clinical trials.

What Are the Symptoms of Graft-Versus-Host Disease?

GVHD has a wide range of symptoms. It is important to distinguish between acute GVHD (typically occurs within the first 3 months following a transplant) and chronic GVHD (typically occurs after the first 3 months following a transplant). Symptoms of acute GVHD can include dry eyes, jaundice, abdominal pain, nausea and more. Symptoms of chronic GVHD can include shortness of breath, abnormal weight loss, fatigue, dry mouth and eyes, muscle weakness, severe pain and more.

Tell Me More about the Clinical Trials Testing Tocilizumab

The clinical trials mentioned earlier will be testing the safety and efficacy of TCZ in preventing GVHD. Those who are between 18 and 65 years of age and who are undertaking an HLA-matched allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (HPCT) are eligible to participate in the study. After receiving a single dose of TCZ via an intravenous infusion, participants will receive their HPCTs and will be monitored for approximately 2 years in order to track any occurrence of GVHD. The researchers involved in the clinical trials believe TCZ has potential to prevent GVHD and, if the study pulls through with positive results, we could be looking at a very significant solution for cancer patients in the future.

Linear Clinical Research provide clinical trials in Australia. What is a clinical trial? Find out today by contacting Linear Clinical Research.

Linear Clinical Research provide http://www.linear.org.au/ clinical trials in Australia. http://www.linear.org.au/participate-in-a-study/what-is-a-clinical-trial/ What is a clinical trial? Find out today by contacting Linear Clinical Research.

Author Bio: Linear Clinical Research provide clinical trials in Australia. What is a clinical trial? Find out today by contacting Linear Clinical Research.

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