Radiographic features of esophageal involvement in chronic graft-vs.-host disease

Chronic graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) is an important late complication of allogeneic bone-marrow transplantation. It resembles several naturally occurring autoimmune diseases and involves the skin, mouth, eyes, liver, and esophagus. The radiographic findings of 14 symptomatic patients with chronic GVHD involving the esophagus were reviewed and found to include webs, ringlike narrowings, and tapering strictures in the mid and upper esophagus. Esophagoscopy revealed characteristic desquamation in the 13 patients studied, but barium studies detected this lesion in only one patient. Knowledge of the site and characteristics of esophageal involvement with chronic GVHD assists the radiologic evaluation of this disorder.