Cytomegalovirus infection and disease after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation: What's new?

CMV infection and disease are a subject of concern after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HCT) since more than 40 years. Considerable progresses have been made in the understanding of risk factors, diagnostic methods and management. However, it remains a frequent complication after HCT, with a negative impact on overall survival. The development of new antiviral drugs active on CMV and of CMV vaccines has been a matter of important publications over the last years. At the beginning of an era of switch from preemptive to prophylactic strategies, this review aims to address the rationale of these changes, and especially the results of the large clinical trials which, historically, supported the preemptive strategy and which, nowadays, support prophylaxis.