Can biomarkers make all the use of new predictive biomarkers enable earlier and more effective treatment of acute GVHD? Can biomarkers accurately guide reduction in therapy for patients who will respond to standard steroid treatment? Can biomarkers enable earlier and thus more effective therapy for high risk GVHD? Can new biomarkers (proteomic, genomic or a combination) also predict patients who are risk of relapse?

Despite major advances in supportive care and tissue typing non relapse mortality rates for adults undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation are still between 15-20 % at 2 years. Lung injury and respiratory failure is a major causes of death after HCT. Although the BMT-CTN has a focused agenda on GVHD, reduction of lung toxicities will be important to improve outcomes. NHLBI should encourage researched from the... more »

What measures other than PFT data can be used to predict risk of 1) COPD exacerbations (e.g., hospitalization, urgent care visit, or ED visit for COPD exacerbation) or 2) relapse (e.g., re-hospitalization, urgent care visit, or ED visit) following hospital discharge after treatment of COPD exacerbations?