# A Case of Refractory Polyarticular Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis Post-hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Successfully Treated With Ruxolitinib

**Authors:** Yuta Sonehara, Yuta Maruyama, Kazuo Sakashita, Yozo Nakazawa

PMC · DOI: 10.7759/cureus.104044 · 2026-02-22

## TL;DR

A child with severe arthritis after a stem cell transplant was successfully treated with ruxolitinib when other treatments failed.

## Contribution

This case demonstrates ruxolitinib's effectiveness in treating refractory juvenile arthritis after stem cell transplants.

## Key findings

- Ruxolitinib induced clinical remission in a patient with post-transplant arthritis.
- The patient remained in remission for over two years without adverse events or cancer recurrence.

## Abstract

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) may trigger secondary autoimmune diseases, with autoimmune arthritis representing a rare yet challenging complication.

Here, we report a six-year-old male who developed polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) three years after allo-HSCT for lymphoma. Despite resistance to multiple biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs), including adalimumab and tocilizumab, treatment with the Janus kinase 1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib achieved clinical remission sustained for over two years without significant adverse events or lymphoma relapse.

Ruxolitinib may represent a viable therapeutic option for refractory secondary JIA post-allo-HSCT, particularly when conventional bDMARDs fail.

## Linked entities

- **Chemicals:** ruxolitinib (PubChem CID 17754772)
- **Diseases:** lymphoma (MONDO:0003659), juvenile idiopathic arthritis (MONDO:0011429)

## Full-text entities

- **Diseases:** autoimmune arthritis (MESH:D001168), JIA (MESH:D001171), lymphoma (MESH:D008223), autoimmune diseases (MESH:D001327)
- **Chemicals:** tocilizumab (MESH:C502936), bDMARDs (-), Ruxolitinib (MESH:C540383), adalimumab (MESH:D000068879)

## Figures

2 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13010185/full.md

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Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC13010185