Blood test could help kids avoid harmful steroid side effects after transplant

NCT ID NCT05090384

Completed Disease control Sponsor: John Levine Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

First seen Jun 26, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026 · Updated 1 time

Summary

This study tested whether a blood test (GVHD biomarkers) can help doctors safely reduce steroid doses in children with graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after a bone marrow transplant. Fifty children with newly diagnosed GVHD received prednisone, and those with low biomarker levels and good clinical response had their steroids tapered quickly. The goal was to see if this approach could maintain treatment success while reducing short- and long-term steroid side effects like infections, bone damage, and growth problems.

What this could mean

Our plain-language read of the trial. This is informational only — not medical advice or a prediction.

Active substance: Prednisone
What this could lead to: If successful, this approach could reduce steroid side effects in children with GVHD while maintaining treatment effectiveness.
What could go wrong: This is a small Phase 2 trial with only 50 participants, so results may not apply to all children. The biomarker test may not accurately predict who can safely taper steroids.

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Conditions

The condition(s) this trial relates to.

acute graft versus host disease

As listed by the trial registrant

The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.

ACUTE GRAFT VS HOST DISEASE ADVERSE EFFECTS ALLOGENEIC BONE MARROW TRANSPLANTATION

Contacts and locations

Locations

Boston Children's Hospital Dana Farber Cancer Institute

Boston, Massachusetts, 02115, United States
Children's Healthcare of Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia, 30322, United States
Children's Hospital of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, California, 90027, United States
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 19104, United States
Children's National Hospital

Washington D.C., District of Columbia, 20010, United States
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

New York, New York, 10029, United States
Medical College of Wisconsin / Children's Wisconsin

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 53226, United States
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

New York, New York, 10065, United States
Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine

Houston, Texas, 77030, United States
The Hospital for Sick Children

Toronto, Ontario, M5S, Canada
Vanderbilt University Medical Center

Nashville, Tennessee, 37235, United States

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