[HTML][HTML] Plerixafor for the treatment of WHIM syndrome

DH McDermott, DV Pastrana, KR Calvo… - … England Journal of …, 2019 - Mass Medical Soc
DH McDermott, DV Pastrana, KR Calvo, S Pittaluga, D Velez, E Cho, Q Liu, HH Trout III…
New England Journal of Medicine, 2019Mass Medical Soc
WHIM syndrome (warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis), a primary
immunodeficiency disorder involving panleukopenia, is caused by autosomal dominant gain-
of-function mutations in CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Myelokathexis is neutropenia
caused by neutrophil retention in bone marrow. Patients with WHIM syndrome are often
treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which can increase neutrophil
counts but does not affect cytopenias other than neutropenia. In this investigator-initiated …
Summary
WHIM syndrome (warts, hypogammaglobulinemia, infections, and myelokathexis), a primary immunodeficiency disorder involving panleukopenia, is caused by autosomal dominant gain-of-function mutations in CXC chemokine receptor 4 (CXCR4). Myelokathexis is neutropenia caused by neutrophil retention in bone marrow. Patients with WHIM syndrome are often treated with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), which can increase neutrophil counts but does not affect cytopenias other than neutropenia. In this investigator-initiated, open-label study, three severely affected patients with WHIM syndrome who could not receive G-CSF were treated with low-dose plerixafor, a CXCR4 antagonist, for 19 to 52 months. Myelofibrosis, panleukopenia, anemia, and thrombocytopenia were ameliorated, the wart burden and frequency of infection declined, human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal squamous-cell carcinoma stabilized, and quality of life improved markedly. Adverse events were mainly infections attributable to the underlying immunodeficiency. One patient died from complications of elective reconstructive surgery. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health.)
The New England Journal Of Medicine