Strategies to Inhibit Graft-Versus-Host Disease While Sparing the Graft-Versus-Tumor Response: Finding the Sweet Spot

Graft-versus-host disease (GvHD) is the major cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Allogeneic HCST is most commonly performed as a treatment for hematological malignancies, thus a crucial consideration when treating GvHD is to inhibit the pathological mechanisms that cause GvHD while at the same time ensuring the graft-versus-tumor (GvT) response is preserved.

It is therefore critical for transplant physicians and drug discovery scientists alike to understand the immunologic pathways that underlie both the beneficial GvT and the harmful GvH responses. This symposium will bring together clinical, basic, and industry scientists to discuss the current and emerging treatment options for GvHD, highlight recent advances in our understanding of disease and anti-tumor immune pathways, and will suggest new approaches to develop immunomodulatory therapies to separate GvHD from GvT effects.