Outcomes of Importance to Patients Living With Cutaneous Chronic Graft-vs-Host Disease

Cutaneous chronic graft-vs-host disease (GVHD) is independently associated with morbidity and mortality after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant. However, the health-related quality-of-life (HRQOL) domains that are most important to patients are poorly understood.

To perform a concept elicitation study to define HRQOL in cutaneous chronic GVHD from the patient perspective and to compare experiences of patients with epidermal vs sclerotic disease.

A single-center qualitative analysis from open-ended, semistructured interviews and free-listing terms conducted between April and September 2023. Participants were 18 years or older with a diagnosis of active cutaneous chronic GVHD, purposefully sampled for epidermal and sclerotic disease features, with ongoing sampling until thematic saturation.

HRQOL domains and codes from patient perspectives of living with cutaneous chronic GVHD were identified by inductive analysis of semistructured interviews. Smith salience index (Smith S) score, a measure of saliency for each list term, was calculated from free-listing terms from deidentified patient interviews.

A total of 31 adults with cutaneous chronic GVHD (median [IQR] age, 61.1 [52.9-68.7] years) participated in interviews; 17 participants (54.8%) were male and 14 (45.2%) were female. Nine participants (29.0%) had epidermal, 13 (41.9%) sclerotic, and 9 (29.0%) a combination of disease types. The study identified 40 codes of importance grouped within 5 HRQOL domains: skin changes and symptoms, social functioning, psychological and emotional functioning, physical functioning, and general health perceptions. The most frequent symptoms were dry skin (n = 20 [65%]), tight skin (n = 19 [61%]), itch (n = 15 [48%]), and discoloration (n = 14 [45%]), which were seen in all disease subtypes. Impairment in social functioning was noted by all participants. Psychological and emotional functioning, including frustration (Smith S score, 0.32) and worry or concern (Smith S score, 0.12), and symptoms including discomfort (Smith S score, 0.20) were the most salient to patients. Individual and environmental factors, such as social comparison, illness comparison with cancer, anatomic location of disease involvement, and disease duration, affected the relationship between skin changes and symptoms and downstream functioning and general health perceptions.

This qualitative analysis demonstrated the direct relationship between cutaneous chronic GVHD and HRQOL domains and identified codes not represented in existing GVHD- and dermatology-specific patient-reported outcome measures. These results can guide patient-reported outcome development and instrument selection for clinical trials and improve clinical decision-making.