Ibrutinib for the Prevention of Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Patients Undergoing Donor Stem Cell Transplant

This phase II trial tests how well ibrutinib works in preventing chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) in patients undergoing donor (allogeneic) hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT). An allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (allo-HCT) is a treatment in which a person receives blood-forming stem cells (cells from which all blood cells develop) from a genetically similar, but not identical donor. When healthy stem cells from a donor are infused into a patient, they may help the patient's bone marrow make more healthy cells and platelets. However, sometimes the transplanted cells from a donor can attack the body's normal cells (called GVHD). Giving ibrutinib after the transplant may stop that from happening. Ibrutinib is in a class of medications called kinase inhibitors. It works by blocking a protein in the blood called Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK). By blocking BTK, ibrutinib inhibits certain immune cells that play a role in cGVHD. Giving ibrutinib after an allo-HCT may prevent the development of chronic GVHD.