Phase II Open-Label Trial of Tacrolimus/Methotrexate and Tocilizumab for the Prevention of Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

This is a Phase II open label trial designed to evaluate the efficacy of Tacrolimus,
Methotrexate and Tocilizumab (Tac/MTX/Toc) in preventing graft versus host disease (GVHD)
after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation compared to a contemporary control
cohort selected from the Center for International Bone Marrow Transplant Research (CIBMTR)
that is treated with standard methotrexate and tacrolimus for GVHD prevention. The control
group of patients will satisfy similar eligibility requirements as the patients enrolled in
the clinical trial and they will be matched for relevant clinical variables (age, sex,
conditioning regimen, disease, graft source, etc).

Patients enrolled in the clinical trial will receive tacrolimus per institutional guidelines
at doses to maintain therapeutic levels and continued until at least Day 90 post transplant.
Methotrexate will be dosed at 15 mg/m2 Day +1 and 10mg/m2 Days +3, +6 and +11. Tocilizumab
will be administered intravenously at a dose of 8 mg/kg at Day -1.

Ancillary Study:

The ancillary study will evaluate whether tocilizumab is effective at positively impacting
mood, fatigue, sleep, and pain in a group of individuals undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic
stem cell transplantation as compared to individuals not receiving tocilizumab. We will also
assess whether tocilizumab alters gene expression and Rap1 prenylation in a manner that may
reduce further progression or relapse of cancer after transplant.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age >=18 years

2. Patients with acute leukemia, chronic myelogenous leukemia, myeloproliferative disease
and myelodysplasia with less than 5% of blasts in the bone marrow

3. Patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia/small lymphocytic lymphoma, Non-Hodgkin
Lymphoma or Hodgkin Disease with chemosensitive disease at time of transplant

4. Planned conditioning regimens including combination of busulfan and fludarabine or
busulfan and cyclophosphamide

5. Transplantation with T-cell-replete grafts

6. Bone marrow or mobilized peripheral blood cell grafts

7. Patients must have either a sibling donor (6/6 match at HLA-A, B and DRB1) or a
unrelated donor (8/8 match at HLA-A, -B, -C and -DRB1)

8. Cardiac function: Ejection fraction at rest >45% for myeloablative conditioning or
>40% for reduced intensity conditioning

9. Estimated creatinine clearance greater than 50 mL/minute (using the Cockcroft-Gault
formula and actual body weight)

10. Pulmonary function: DLCO ≥40% (adjusted for hemoglobin) and FEV1≥50%

11. Liver function: total bilirubin < 1.5 x the upper limit of normal and ALT/AST < 2.5x
the upper normal limit

12. Signed informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Prior allogeneic HCT

2. Karnofsky Performance Score <70%

3. Patients with uncontrolled bacterial, viral or fungal infections (currently taking
medication and with progression of infectious disease or no clinical improvement) at
time of enrollment

4. Prior intolerance or allergy to Tocilizumab

5. Use of rituximab, alemtuzumab, ATG or other monoclonal antibody at time of
conditioning regimen

6. History of diverticulitis, Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

7. History of demyelinating disorder

8. Pregnant and lactating women

9. Patients with a history of rheumatologic disorders who have previously received
Tocilizumab

Eligibility for the Control Arm

Patients in the control arm will be identified from patients reported to the CIBMTR from
U.S centers. Control patients will be required to satisfy similar eligibility requirements
as patients being enrolled in the clinical trial. Patients will need to fulfill the same
inclusion criteria for the clinical trial according to Section 2.4.1, plus the following:

1. Receive Tac/MTX as the sole GVHD prophylaxis approach

2. Receive the same regimens as specified in Table 2.5

3. Year of transplant from 2010 to 2013

Exclusion criteria for the controls:

1. Karnofsky Performance Score < 70%

Data for all eligible patients will be used to constitute the control database for this
study