Cyclosporine Eye Drops in Preventing Graft-Versus-Host Disease of the Eye in Patients Who Have Undergone Donor Stem Cell Transplant for Hematologic Cancer or Bone Marrow Failure Disorder

• Number of patients who develop ocular GVHD while on study in the two arms (ocular cyclosporine (Restasis) vs. placebo) [ Time Frame: 1 year after transplant. ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  Data analysis will be performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Logistic regression will be used to estimate the odds ratio and 95% confidence interval of the two treatment groups with the adjustment of baseline covariates. Outcome comparisons for categorical/dichotomous variables will be assessed by 2 test or Fisher's exact test where expected cell frequencies were <5; continuous variables will be compared by X/2 test or by Mann-Whitney U test where the data are strongly skewed.
  
  

• Numerical score of Ocular Surface Disease Index (OSDI) and development or lack of ocular GVHD (by ophthalmologic examination) as measured by Odds ratio in a linear regression model. [ Time Frame: 1 year after transplant ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
  OSDI is a patient reported questionnaire consisting of 12 questions which are scored from 0 to 4. The total scored is computed and depending on the number of questions answered scores are computed which are then categorized into mild, moderate or severe dry eye symptoms. This tool should adequately reflect the morbidity of the dry eye symptoms.
  
  

OBJECTIVES:

Primary

• To assess the efficacy of cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion (Restasis®) in the prevention of ocular graft-versus-host disease in patients who have undergone allogeneic stem cell transplantation for hematologic malignancies or bone marrow failure disorders.

Secondary

• To correlate the Ocular Surface Disease Index with clinical ophthalmologic examination.

OUTLINE: This is a multicenter study. Patients are stratified according to age, type of transplant (related vs unrelated), and intensity of transplant (ablative vs other). Patients are randomized to 1 of 2 treatment arms.

• Arm I: Patients receive cyclosporine ophthalmic emulsion (Restasis®) drops in each eye twice daily for up to 1 year after transplant.
• Arm II: Patients receive placebo ophthalmic drops in each eye twice daily for up to 1 year after transplant.

Patients in both arms may also receive artificial tear drops at least twice daily as clinically necessary.