Study protocol: Close Assessment and Testing for Chronic Graft-vs.-Host disease (CATCH).

Chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is an immune-mediated disorder that causes significant late morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation. The "Close Assessment and Testing for Chronic GVHD (CATCH)" study is a multi-center Chronic GVHD Consortium prospective, longitudinal cohort study designed to enroll patients before hematopoietic cell transplantation and follow them closely to capture the development of chronic GVHD and to identify clinical and biologic biomarkers of chronic GVHD onset. Data are collected pre-transplant and every two months through one-year post-transplant with chart review thereafter.

Success of Immunosuppressive Treatments in Patients with Chronic Graft-versus-Host Disease.

Moderate to severe chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) is treated with potent immunosuppressive therapy (IST) to modulate the allo-immune response, control symptoms, and prevent further organ damage. We sought to understand the types of treatments used in clinical practice and the likelihood of successful treatment associated with each. A chart review was performed for 250 adult patients at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center enrolled in a prospective observational study.