Oral beclomethasone dipropionate in gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease

Beclomethasone dipropionate is a corticosteroid with topical activity for inflammatory disorders at mucosal surfaces. Oral beclomethasone dipropionate (orBec) has demonstrated activity in gastrointestinal acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) associated with hematopoietic cell transplantation. Since the GI tract is the dominant aGVHD target in many patients, oral beclomethasone dipropionate reduces the requirement for systemic immunosuppressive drugs in treating aGVHD. In this patient population, reduced exposure to systemic corticosteroids is associated with fewer infections and, possibly, preserved graft-versus-tumor effects, yielding a statistically significant improvement in survival in a randomized, multicenter clinical trial.