Graft-versus-host disease of the skin and adjacent mucous membranes

Abstract

Graft-versus-host disease is a complex multiorgan disease which mainly occurs in patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. The skin is the most frequently affected organ. Care and therapy of patients requires an interdisciplinary approach with dermatology in a key position. Due to the increasing use of peripheral blood stem cells, the increasing age of transplanted patients, the increasing use of unrelated donors, and the broadening of the indications for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, the incidence of GVHD has been rising in the last decade. Based on extensive clinical and investigational data, the following article tries to give a practical overview for the specialistís daily routine. © Blackwell Verlag GmbH, Berlin.