The Case for Earlier Detection: Finding Chronic GVHD Sooner

📖 Episode Description:
In this episode, we take a deep dive into the critical importance of spotting chronic graft-versus-host disease (cGVHD) early after a bone marrow or stem cell transplant. Early detection isn’t just a medical ideal—it’s a potential game changer for survivors’ long-term health, quality of life, and even survival.

You’ll learn:

• Why cGVHD is so hard to catch early – no simple test, subtle symptoms, and highly variable presentations across patients.

• The limitations of current screening methods, including why the NIH guidelines often aren’t used in everyday clinical practice.

• How late diagnoses lead to worse outcomes, with irreversible organ damage often present before treatment even begins.

• The unique challenges in diagnosing cGVHD in children, particularly when it affects the lungs and standard breathing tests aren’t reliable.

• Why a collaborative approach like the Engraft Learning Network offers real hope, using quality improvement and implementation science to drive practical, lasting solutions.

We’ll also preview the upcoming June Design Session—a focused effort bringing together transplant centers, clinicians, and quality experts to create and rapidly test better screening approaches.

✨ What could earlier detection mean for transplant survivors? And how can collaboration turn this vision into reality? Tune in to find out!