Navigating Novel Therapies in Steroid-Refractory cGVHD: Practical Strategies for Community-Based Oncology Pharmacists

Program Description

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) is a significant challenge in post-transplant care that can occur after an allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant when donor immune cells recognize the recipient's tissues as foreign and attack them. Management of cGVHD often requires long-term treatment after transplant. When considering treatment for cGVHD, particularly in the third-line setting, the choice of therapy is multifactorial. Community-based oncology pharmacists play a crucial role in ensuring continuity of care, but face barriers like limited access to specialists, evolving treatment guidelines, and emerging targeted therapies. This webinar will explore therapy selection and sequencing in steroid-refractory cGVHD informed by clinical trial data and real-world insights. Key drug-specific characteristics, including dosing and dose adjustments, administration, monitoring requirements, and adverse event profiles, will also be detailed. Participants will recognize the importance of considering adverse effect profiles, patient-specific factors such as organ involvement, comorbidities, access to care, and financial toxicity, and the potential for combination therapy.

Target audience: Oncology pharmacists

Type of activity: Application
Release date: September 16, 2025
Expiration date: September 16, 2026

Time to complete activity: 1.25 hours

Learner level: Foundational
Fee: Free

Educational Objectives

At the completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

• Explain the mechanism of action of novel therapies for the treatment of steroid-refractory chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) and their relationship to disease pathophysiology
• Investigate the role of novel therapies in steroid-refractory cGVHD and supportive clinical evidence
• Apply a personalized approach to the management of steroid-refractory cGVHD by assessing key clinical and pharmacologic factors
• Employ pharmacist-directed strategies to optimize medication safety and adherence in cGVHD treatment