Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Reply
  • Published:

Reply to Pohlreich et al

Bone Marrow Transplantation volume 37, pages 236–237 (2006)Cite this article

Pohlreich and co-workers report a decreased incidence and severity of acute gastrointestinal toxicity when substituting Methotrexate (MTX) with Mycofenolate Mofetil (MMF) for the prevention of graft-versus-host disease in stem cell transplantation following myeloablative conditioning. They do not find a significant difference in time to engraftment between patient groups.

In our study, we concluded that the toxicity profile of Cyclosporine A (CSA)/MMF in comparison to CSA/MTX is superior as mainly reflected by the shorter time to engraftment.1 Owing to the fact that we referred to retrospective data, we did not report in detail the severity of mucositis among patients treated at our center. Documentation was not standardized and supportive care improved during the study period, making a direct comparison difficult. However, we also observed a decreased incidence of severe mucositis and length of hospitalization, which can be interpreted as a consequence of the substitution of MMF for MTX. In addition to a favorable gastrointestinal toxicity profile, the accelerated engraftment, which is associated with the resolution of mucositis in most cases, may be responsible for these differences.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Neumann F, Graef T, Tapprich C, Vaupel M, Steidl U, Germing U et al. Cyclosporine A and mycofenolate mofetil vs cyclosporine A and methotrexate for graft-versus-host disease prophylaxis after stem cell transplantation from HLA-identical sibling. Bone Marrow Transplant 2005; 35: 1089–1093.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Bolwell BJ, Sobecks R, Pohlman B, Andresen S, Rybicki L, Kuczkowski E et al. A prospective randomized trial comparing cyclosporin+short course methotrexate to cyclosporine+mycophenolate for GVHD prophylaxis in ablative allogeneic BMT. Bone Marrow Transplant 2004; 34: 621–625.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Nash RA, Johnston L, Parker P, McCune JS, Storer B, Slattery JT et al. A phase I/II study of mycophenolate mofetil in combination with cyclosporine for prophylaxis of acute graft-versus-host disease after myeloablative conditioning and allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 2005; 11: 495–505.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology, Oncology and Clinical Immunology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Duesseldorf, Germany

    F Neumann, R Fenk, T Graef, R Haas & G Kobbe

Authors
  1. F Neumann
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. R Fenk
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. T Graef
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. R Haas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. G Kobbe
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Neumann, F., Fenk, R., Graef, T. et al. Reply to Pohlreich et al. Bone Marrow Transplant 37, 236–237 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705228

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bmt.1705228

Search

Advanced search

Quick links