Lithium Carbonate in Treating Patients With Acute Intestinal Graft-Versus-Host-Disease (GVHD) After Donor Stem Cell Transplant

Inclusion Criteria: * Patient with a diagnosis of severe intestinal GVHD that is not improving at any time after initial treatment with glucocorticoids for at least 7 days are eligible for enrollment; measures indicating severity of GVHD will include: a) persistent diarrhea with average daily stool volumes \> 500 mL per day; or b) persistent hemorrhage that is detectable by visual inspection of the stool * Patients with denuded mucosa caused by GVHD are eligible for enrollment, regardless of prior treatment for acute GVHD; denuded mucosa is defined as loss (i.e., erosion or sloughing) of the epithelium in: a) at least one-third of the surface area in a 30 cm colonic segment (i.e., rectosigmoid, descending or transverse colon); or b) at least one fifth of the surface area of the second portion of the duodenum, as estimated by endoscopic evaluation; denuded mucosa must be documented by images of the duodenum and colon and by histologic evaluation of the colon * All subjects must provide written informed consent with the use of forms approved by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC) Institutional Review Board (IRB) Exclusion Criteria: * Significant renal dysfunction (estimated creatinine clearance \< 30 mL/min) * Persistent or recurrent malignancy * Secondary malignancy * Patients who had autologous or syngeneic marrow transplantation * Presence of any cause of intestinal symptoms or ulceration other than GVHD * Patients with any psychological, familial, sociolog…