Diagnosis of gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation is becoming increasingly performed f or a variety of disorders but primarily for hematological malignancies. Gra ft-versus-host disease (GVHD), which often involves the GI tract, is one of the most common complications of this type of transplantation. The diagnos is of GI GVHD can be difficult to establish because of the nonspecific natu re of associated symptoms, few diagnostic endoscopic findings, and potentia l difficulty in making a histological diagnosis. In this review, we summari ze current concepts and controversies regarding the diagnostic evaluation f or GI GVHD. (C) 2000 by Am. Coll. of Gastroenterology).