Scientific report 2022 of the Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP)

Over the last 25 years, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) has been increasingly used to treat patients affected by severe and refractory autoimmune diseases (ADs). HSCT for ADs is recently facing a unique developmental phase across EBMT centres. Autologous HSCT has become an integral and standard-of-care part of treatment algorithms in multiple sclerosis (MS) and systemic sclerosis (SSc). Recently, novel cellular therapies (i.e. CAR-T cells, mesenchymal cells) have been successfully adopted in ADs.

The EBMT Autoimmune Diseases Working Party (ADWP) has been central to development of these approaches. The ADWP is dedicated to promoting clinical activities, teaching and translational research on autologous/allogeneic HSCT together with novel approaches of cellular therapy as specific treatment of severe ADs, in a specific challenge to re-induce self-tolerance by resetting the immune system. The ADs section of the EBMT Registry is the largest database of its kind worldwide, with over 4,100 HSCT registrations for ADs.

A multidisciplinary approach is key in this field, and the ADWP is continuing to expand the evidence-base and support best practice with studies and guidelines, including significant collaborative outputs with other EBMT Working-Parties, JACIE, Trainee-Committee and the Nurses-Group.

Education is central in ADWP activities, including a successful ADWP Educational Meeting in London, and a workshop hosted by ECTRIMS: Autologous Haematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Treatment of MS and Related Diseases. Moreover, a section specifically designed for ADs was developed within the EBMT e-learning platform, including a recent webinar on ‘autologous HSCT in MS’ with key experts in the field.