title: Chronic graft versus host disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Chronic graft versus host disease is a debilitating and often fatal complication of allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The purpose of this review is to overview this disease and highlight recent findings in the literature over the past year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A new focus on chronic graft versus host disease as a long-term complication of transplantation has resulted in increased research activity in this disease. Here we review the recent in-vitro and clinical studies that focus on the pathophysiology of the disease, treatment and prevention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  As more patients undergo and survive allogeneic stem cell transplantation more attention is being focused on the study of chronic graft versus host disease. Although the pathophysiology is still controversial, recent advances have been made in our understanding of this disease, including the balance of T helper type 1 and 2 cells, the role of B cells and autoantibodies, graft manipulation and prophylaxis, which may lead to advances in treatment and prevention. The series of recent publications put forward by the National Institutes of Health consensus project on criteria for clinical trials are expected to advance the standards and uniformity of chronic graft versus host disease clinical research.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric Oncology Branch, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-1203, USA.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Baird
authors.forename: Steven Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Pavletic
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D006086:Graft vs Host Disease / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000628:therapy; D018380:Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D051379:Mice; D014184:Transplantation, Homologous / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000276:immunology