A Review of Literature on the Microbiome and Bone Marrow Transplants
The aim of this study is to evaluate the relationship between the existing gut microbiota in patients requiring a bone marrow transplant (BMT) and contraction of graft versus host disease (GVHD). A bone marrow transplant is used to treat patients who have leukemias, lymphomas, aplastic anemia, and immune deficiency disorders. Studying this relationship is important to predict the probability of a patient rejecting the transplant. With predictive power, eventually healthcare providers could use an individual’s microbiome to determine the best course of treatment and increase survival rates in cancer patients. In addition to a review of existing literature, this paper analyzes current laboratory procedures to determine if alterations need to be made to data collection and analysis protocol in BMT/microbiome studies. Improvements to protocol would ensure reproducibility and reliability of findings.