Soluble c-kit levels in acute GVHD after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation.

Serum soluble c-kit concentrations were measured in 11 patients with or without acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. The serum soluble c-kit levels in the patients with moderate to severe acute GVHD (grade II-IV) were significantly lower than those in the patients with no or mild acute GVHD (grade 0-I) following the onset. The data from this study indicate that measurement of serum soluble c-kit concentration is a useful indicator of severe acute GVHD.