Introduction to the Reports from the National Cancer Institute First International Workshop on the Biology, Prevention, and Treatment of Relapse after Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

Important advances in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) over the past 20 years have substantially reduced the risk of treatment-related morbidity and mortality. However, in that same time period, the incidence of relapse has not changed significantly, despite the introduction of donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) as a specific modality to treat relapse [1,2]. Relapse is the leading cause of death following allogeneic HSCT, and it remains the primary cause of death among patients surviving more than 2 year after allogeneic HSCT [1].