EULAR NEWS

Autologous Stem cell Transplantation International Scleroderma (ASTIS) trial: hope on the horizon for patients with severe systemic sclerosis

J M van Laar¹, D Farge², A Tyndall³

¹ Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
² Hopital St Louis, Paris, France
³ Felix-Platter Spital, Basel, Switzerland

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr J M van Laar
Department of Rheumatology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Albinusdreef 2, 2333 ZA Leiden, The Netherlands; j.m.van_laar@lumc.nl

Keywords: cyclophosphamide; stem cell transplantation; systemic sclerosis; high dose immunosuppressive treatment

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The ASTIS (Autologous Stem cell Transplantation International Scleroderma) trial was launched in 2001 under the auspices of the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) and the European Group for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation (EBMT) to compare safety and efficacy of high dose immunosuppressive treatment (HDIT) and autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) with 12xmonthly treatments with intravenous pulse cyclophosphamide (750 mg/m²). The trial builds upon the results from previous pilot studies conducted in various European centres, which demonstrated the feasibility and potential long term benefits of HDIT + HSCT in patients with severe rheumatic autoimmune diseases, including progressive systemic sclerosis. To combine safety and efficacy, a medium intensity regimen was chosen to achieve immunoablation in the ASTIS protocol, consisting of high dose cyclophosphamide (2x2 g/m²) + Filgrastim (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor; 10 µg/kg) for mobilisation of haematopoietic stem cells, leukapheresis, and CD34 selection of the . . . [Full text of this article]

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