Increase of TNF-α Serum Levels in Major Transplant-Related Complications of Human Bone Marrow Transplantation— Association with Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease and Activation of Host Macrophages

In human bone marrow transplantation (BMT) transplant-related mortality is a major problem even in low-risk patients (pts) and still occurs in about 25% to 35% of pts [1]. During the aplastic phase, endothelial leakage syndrome (ELS) and veno-occlusive disease (VOD) are the major transplant-related complications (TRC). After engraftment, infections, interstitial pneumonitis (IP), and acute graft-versus-host disease (aGvHD) are the main causes of death within the first 4 to 6 months following BMT [2–4].