Ophthalmic manifestations are associated with reduced tear lymphotoxin-α levels in chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease

PurposeTo determine the role tear lymphotoxin-α (LT-α) in chronic ocular graft-versus-host disease (oGVHD).MethodsTwenty-two chronic oGVHD and 17 control tear samples were collected, and commercial test strips were used to detect LT-α concentrations. Concentration differences between patients with and without oGVHD were determined via Mann-WhitneyUtest. The correlation between LT-α levels and ophthalmic parameters was analyzed using Spearman’s test.ResultsThe concentration of LT-α was significantly lower in oGVHD patients than in controls. LT-α levels were significantly correlated with OSDI, NIH eye score, T-BUT, and CFS among all participants. ROC analysis revealed that the area under the curve of LT-α was 0.847, and the cutoff value for chronic oGVHD diagnosis was 0.203 ng/mL.ConclusionOur study revealed the significant decrease of tear LT-α in oGVHD, and suggested LT-α as a promising marker for chronic oGVHD diagnosis.