Pre-transplant microbiome sets the stage for GVHD
Bone marrow transplants have saved the lives of thousands of blood cancer patients, but graft-vs.-host disease, or GVHD, remains a debilitating and even life-threatening complication.
A new study from Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center points to patients’ pre-transplant gut microbiome as a major player in the development and severity of GVHD.
Dr. Geoff Hill's team works to understand what triggers GVHD, and how to help prevent the devastating transplant outcome.
In particular the findings point toward approaches to modulate this pathway that can be tested clinically, said Dr. Geoffrey Hill, professor (Medical Oncology), and senior author of the study, published in Immunity.
Hill directs Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation at Fred Hutch.
While the team's findings highlight the power of the microbiome in promoting GVHD, it will likely be some time before doctors will be able to modulate this complex ecosystem to improve transplant outcomes, she said.
But by further clarifying how interactions between the microbiome and donor and host immune cells precipitate GVHD, the researchers' work reveals the key interactions and players that can then become the focus of further research into therapeutic targets and new treatment strategies.
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