Educators

Physiology of Stem Cell Transplantation: Learning Objectives

Medical Importance

Stem cell transplantation is a treatment options for many patients with hematologic diseases. Stem cell transplantation involves eliminating a patient's hematopoietic and immune system by chemotherapy and radiotherapy and replacing it with one's own or another person's hematopoietic stem cells.

Objectives

  1. List the indications for hematopoietic stem cell transplant and the rationale for this treatment choice.
  2. Describe the different types and sources of hematopoietic stem cells.
  3. Describe principles of pre-transplant conditioning and the role for post-transplant immunosuppression.
  4. Describe graft versus host disease and graft versus tumor effect.
  5. Describe the pathophysiologic basis for acute and chronic graft versus host disease.
  6. Describe the changes in humoral and cellular immunity following stem cell transplant and how they relate to infectious complications.