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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Bone Marrow Transplantation Platform to Investigate the Role of Dendritic Cells in Graft-versus-Host Disease
Published on: March 17, 2020
[Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) - an update. Part 2: prognosis and therapy of GvHD]
Insights
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) after stem cell transplantation (SCT) is a major complication. This review covers prognosis, prevention, and treatments like ECP and mTOR inhibitors, offering new hope for patients.
Area of Science:
- Hematology
- Immunology
- Oncology
Background:
- Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) significantly impacts patient morbidity, mortality, and quality of life post-allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT).
- Effective prevention and treatment strategies are crucial for improving outcomes in SCT recipients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive overview of the prognosis, prevention, and treatment of acute and chronic GvHD.
- To highlight recent advancements in GvHD management, including novel therapeutic options.
Main Methods:
- Review of current literature and guidelines on GvHD management.
- Discussion of established and emerging treatment modalities for GvHD.
Main Results:
- Donor selection based on HLA compatibility is key for GvHD prevention.
- Standard prophylaxis involves cyclosporine with or without methotrexate.
- Emerging therapies like extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) and mTOR inhibitors show promise for treating acute and chronic GvHD with improved side effect profiles.
Conclusions:
- Despite advances, GvHD remains a significant challenge in SCT.
- Newer treatments like ECP and mTOR inhibitors offer improved efficacy and safety, potentially changing future GvHD management paradigms.
- Adherence to established guidelines and exploration of novel therapies are essential for optimizing patient care.
Abstract:
Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) remains one of the major complications after allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) and is responsible for morbidity, mortality and decrease in quality of life of patients after SCT. The most important preventive approach is the selection of a donor with best possible HLA compatibility between donor and recipient. Basic prophylaxis of acute GvHD begins already prior to transplantation and usually consists of cyclosporine with or without methotrexate. In the past few years, many new therapies have been introduced for the treatment of acute and chronic GvHD. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), for example, represents a promising treatment option for acute and chronic GvHD with very few side effects. For chronic GvHD mTOR inhibitors (sirolimus, everolimus) may replace calcineurin-inhibitors with the advantage of not inducing malignant skin tumors. Guidelines are available ort he management of acute and chronic GvHD. While pathophysiology, classification and skin manifestations of GvHD have been already presented in the first part of this article, this second part covers the prognosis, prevention and treatment of GvHD.
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