LAUSR

Acute graft-versus host disease (aGVHD) is a multi-step process occurring after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT), characterized by (I) tissue damage to the recipient by pretransplant preparative chemotherapy, (II) donor T cell activation in response to host alloantigens and (III) cytokine secretion by donor T cells (1). Notwithstanding continued improvements in outcomes after allo-SCT (2), aGVHD and chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) continue to be major causes of post-transplant morbidity, nonrelapse mortality, and health-related quality of life (3). Despite the routine use of prophylactic therapies, incidence rates of aGVHD and cGVHD reach 40% to 50% and 30% to 70% (3), respectively, even among matched sibling donor recipients of allo-SCT. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.