Figure 1 ∣. Allo-HSCT and GVHD.
Patients undergoing allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) receive a pretransplant regimen including chemotherapeutic agents with or without total body irradiation and/or antibodies. Patients receive donor haematopoietic stem cells after this pretransplant regimen. Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) occurs when alloreactive donor T cells attack host tissues, including the skin, liver, gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system, thymus, ovary or testis as well as the haematopoietic system.