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Optical Coherence Tomography for Quantifying Human Cutaneous Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease
George L Chen1, Mansik Jeon2, Maureen Ross1
1Department of Medicine, Transplant and Cellular Therapy Program, Roswell Park Cancer Institute, Buffalo, New York.
Transplantation and Cellular Therapy
|March 30, 2021
Summary
Optical coherence tomography (OCT) noninvasively measures skin changes in chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD). OCT imaging correlates with cGVHD severity and can track treatment response, aiding clinical trials.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Dermatology
- Oncology
Background:
- Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a major cause of mortality post-allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT).
- Cutaneous cGVHD presents as skin thickening and reduced mobility, currently assessed via subjective physical examination.
- Objective, quantitative methods are needed for cGVHD assessment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the applicability of Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) for assessing human cutaneous cGVHD.
- To correlate OCT imaging parameters with clinical severity of cutaneous cGVHD.
- To determine if OCT can monitor longitudinal changes during cGVHD treatment.
Main Methods:
- Prospective examination of seven patients with cutaneous cGVHD and three controls using OCT.
- Clinical assessment utilized the cGVHD Skin (Vienna) Scale.
- OCT imaging analyzed parameters like stratum corneum thickness, epidermal thickness, and light transmission depth.
Main Results:
- OCT parameters, including stratum corneum thickness and epidermal thickness, significantly correlated with cutaneous cGVHD severity across multiple body sites (P ≤ .03).
- Longitudinal OCT findings mirrored clinical changes in treated patients.
- OCT detected changes in skin microstructure even when not clinically apparent.
Conclusions:
- OCT is a viable, noninvasive tool for assessing cutaneous cGVHD severity.
- OCT imaging can objectively track disease progression and treatment response.
- OCT may enhance clinical trial design by providing quantitative outcome measures for cGVHD.
