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CompletedNCT01369914Updated Dec 3, 2019

The Natural History of Graft-Versus-Host Disease in the Eyes

An observational study in Graft-Versus-Host Disease, sponsored by National Eye Institute (NEI). Completed at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 18 Years and older. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-12-03.

Sponsored by National Eye Institute (NEI) · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
61
Ages
18 Years and older
Sex
All
01

Study summary

Background:

  • Stem cell transplantation (SCT) is used to treat some kinds of cancer, blood cell disorders, and immune disorders. Stem cells from a donor s blood are used to replace the recipient s stem cells in the bone marrow. The recipient s bone marrow can then produce new blood cells. Some of these new cells involved in the immune system are like the donor s cells. Sometimes immune cells from the SCT attack the recipient s normal tissues, including the eyes. This type of immune attack is called graft-versus-host disease, or GVHD.
  • The symptoms of ocular GVHD include eye pain, irritation, dryness, and inflammation. When it is severe and if it does not respond well to treatment, ocular GVHD may also cause vision loss.

Objective:

  • To learn more about graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) of the eyes in people who have had stem cell transplantation.

Eligibility:

  • Participants must be at least 18 years of age.
  • They must be taking part in a study at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) or the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
  • They must have a SCT scheduled within the next 30 days.

Design:

  • The study lasts for 1 year and includes six visits to the National Eye Institute. (There is an optional visit about 1 month before your SCT.) When possible, visits for this study will be scheduled so that they can be done on the same day as your visits for the NCI or NHLBI protocol that you are taking part in.
  • At each visit, participants will have a medical exam and an eye history will be taken. They will have an eye exam and a test to measure the ability to make tears. Those in the study will also have tear fluid collected for analysis in a lab. Tear fluid collection is a painless process. Blood will be drawn during certain visits if it has not already been collected by the transplant team.
Read the detailed description

OBJECTIVE:

The study objectives are to study the development of ocular graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in participants treated with stem cell transplantation (SCT) at the NIH, including exam findings prior to SCT, changes in ocular signs and symptoms following SCT and response to standard therapy in participants identified with dry eye and ocular GVHD; to develop clinical outcome measures for early onset and more advanced ocular GVHD and provide estimates of progression rates for these outcomes; to analyze tear fluid, impression cytology (IC) and serum samples from participants undergoing SCT, to identify biomarkers or other findings which may predict the onset of ocular GVHD or correlate with disease progression or response to therapy and to establish a cohort of participants with ocular GVHD in anticipation of future clinical trials.

STUDY POPULATION:

Up to 50 adult participants undergoing SCT at the NIH, and up to 50 healthy adult participants will be enrolled.

DESIGN:

This prospective, natural history study will follow participants through 12 months post-SC, with the option to extend follow-up for up to five years.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

The primary objective outcome variable is ocular surface staining using fluorescein and lissamine green dyes, as measured by the Oxford criteria, with the scale ranging from 0 to 15 in each eye. The primary subjective outcome measure is the Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI), ranging from 0 to 100. Secondary outcome variables include best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA), tear film osmolarity, Schirmer s tear testing with anesthesia, meibomian gland function and tear break-up time. In addition, tear fluid biomarkers and/or IC will be studied as secondary outcome variables to determine whether changes in biomarker levels (tear fluid) or cell densities and morphologies (IC) correlate with the development or progression of ocular GVHD.

02

Conditions studied

  • Graft-Versus-Host Disease

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Keywords

  • Graft-Versus-Host Disease
  • Natural History Study
  • Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant
  • GVHD
03

In context

Graft vs Host Disease

806 studies on the registry are indexed under Graft vs Host Disease; 138 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 61 is below the median of 94 across 102 observational studies indexed under Graft vs Host Disease.

Browse Graft vs Host Disease studies →

Lead sponsor

National Eye Institute (NEI) is the lead sponsor of 266 studies on the registry; 17 are open to participants now.

Of its 8 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 8 (100%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

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Who can participate

Ages eligible
18 Years and older
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

SCT Participants

  1. Participant must be 18 years of age or older.
  2. Participant must understand and sign the protocol s informed consent document.
  3. Participant is scheduled for a SCT under another NIH protocol within the next 30 days.
  4. Participant is willing and able to comply with the study procedures and follow-up visits.

Healthy Participants

  1. Participant must be 18 years of age or older.
  2. Participant must understand and sign the protocol s informed consent document.
  3. Participant has no more than minimal current dry eye disease, defined as no more than minimal dry eye symptoms, Schirmer s with anesthesia (Bullet) 6, tear break-up time (TBUT) (Bullet) 6, and corneal staining (Oxford) \< 3 in both eyes.

Exclusion criteria

EXCLUSION CRITERIA:

SCT Participants

  1. Participant has a history of ocular problems which could interfere with the natural history of their response to treatment with SCT. Examples include significant dry eye disease, use of cyclosporine eye drops in the past 30 days and conjunctival scarring for any reason.
  2. Participant has known allergies to dilating or anesthetic eye drops.
05

Study design

Observational model
Case-control
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
61 participants (actual)
06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. The primary objective variable is ocular surface staining using fluorescein and lissamine green dyes. The primary subjective outcome measure is the OSDI

    Time frame: Ongoing

Secondary outcomes

  1. In addition, tear fluid biomarkers and conjunctival IC will be studied as a secondary outcome variable to determine whether changes in biomarker levels or cell densities and morphologies correlate with the development or progression of ocular GV...

    Time frame: Ongoing

  2. Secondary outcome variables include changes in BCVA (ETDRS); tear film osmolarity; Schirmer's testing with anesthesia; meibomain gland function; tear break-up time.

    Time frame: Ongoing

07

Study locations

1 site
  • National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, 9000 Rockville Pike
    Bethesda, Maryland 20892, United States
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References and documents

Publications

  • Filipovich AH, Weisdorf D, Pavletic S, Socie G, Wingard JR, Lee SJ, Martin P, Chien J, Przepiorka D, Couriel D, Cowen EW, Dinndorf P, Farrell A, Hartzman R, Henslee-Downey J, Jacobsohn D, McDonald G, Mittleman B, Rizzo JD, Robinson M, Schubert M, Schultz K, Shulman H, Turner M, Vogelsang G, Flowers ME. National Institutes of Health consensus development project on criteria for clinical trials in chronic graft-versus-host disease: I. Diagnosis and staging working group report. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant. 2005 Dec;11(12):945-56. doi: 10.1016/j.bbmt.2005.09.004. PubMed 16338616 ↗
  • Jabs DA, Wingard J, Green WR, Farmer ER, Vogelsang G, Saral R. The eye in bone marrow transplantation. III. Conjunctival graft-vs-host disease. Arch Ophthalmol. 1989 Sep;107(9):1343-8. doi: 10.1001/archopht.1989.01070020413046. PubMed 2675805 ↗
  • Kim SK. Update on ocular graft versus host disease. Curr Opin Ophthalmol. 2006 Aug;17(4):344-8. doi: 10.1097/01.icu.0000233952.09595.d8. PubMed 16900025 ↗
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Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 3, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
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Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT01369914
Lead sponsor
National Eye Institute (NEI)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Jun 9, 2011
Start date
May 20, 2011
Completion
Feb 5, 2016
Last update
Dec 3, 2019

Study contacts

Rachel J Bishop, M.D.
principal investigator · National Eye Institute (NEI)
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

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This study is completed, as verified in Feb 2016. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

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