The clinical impact of cytomegalovirus infection following allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation: Why the quest for meaningful prophylaxis still matters

Latent infection with human cytomegalovirus (CMV) is common. Functional immunity effectively contains such latent infections; however, CMV reactivation may cause significant complications in patients undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). In spite of the universal implementation of post-transplant screening for CMV viremia and the institution of pre-emptive antiviral management, CMV disease still occurs in a small portion of patients. Moreover, interactions between CMV and the immune system have significant implications for the incidence of graft-versus-host disease, the recurrence of malignancy, and non-relapse mortality following alloHCT, even in the era of pre-emptive antiviral management.
Source: Blood Reviews - Category: Hematology Authors: Tags: Review Source Type: research