Graft vs. Host Disease PDF

Preface to the Third Edition

Seven years have passed since the second edition of this textbook. The editors are gratified by the enthusiastic response of our readers who have often commented that the clear and clean writing in this volume makes it accessible to many who are new to the field.

We believe this book should be in the hands of every clinician caring for patients undergoing an allogeneic bone marrow transplant, as well as every scientist interested in the complex and fascinating immunologic phenomenon of GVHD. Because this text is used in over thirty countries throughout the world, we have made every effort in the third edition to maintain and enhance its accessibility. In order to keep this volume affordable to individuals, and particularly to young individuals at the early stages of their careers, we reduced its overall length. Because several new areas of investigation and expansion required inclusion, however, we decided to eliminate the introductory section of basic immunologic sciences. We have also emphasized the translational aspects of individual topics by including basic science and clinical perspectives in the same chapter wherever possible. We believe this fusion and streamlining will significantly enhance the utility of the book. Readers will note the rapid advance of certain topics. For example, in the second edition, there was not a single mention of regulatory or suppressive phenomena. Today, not only have regulatory cells become a hot topic in general immunology, they have been used very effectively to modulate GVHD in animal models. Our increased ability to identify these cells and isolate their molecular pathways leads us to hope that we will be able to manipulate these and other cells in ways that will benefit our patients in the years ahead.

Readers will also note that the editorship has changed. We are grateful to Steven Burakoff for his many contributions to the immunology of GVHD and for his help in earlier editions of this text. We are delighted to be joined by Kenneth Cooke, whose enthusiasm, energy and passion for excellence will help to make this third edition the best yet.

Finally we would like to dedicate this volume to our best teachers: our patients. It is our hope that by the time of the fourth edition, many of the insights illuminated in the following pages will have been translated into new therapies that will make allogeneic bone marrow transplantation a safer and more effective therapy for everyone who needs it.