Palifermin in Preventing Chronic Graft-Versus-Host Disease in Patients Who Have Undergone Donor Stem Cell Transplant for Hematologic Cancer

Inclusion Criteria: * Survival for more than 60 days after an allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) with growth-factor mobilized blood cells * Current dose of prednisone at =\< 0.5 mg/kg or equivalent or no systemic glucocorticoid treatment * Ability to remain under care at the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance (SCCA) for at least 28 days after enrollment in the study * Able and willing to give informed consent Exclusion Criteria: * Presence of generalized rash involving more than 50% of the body surface * Prior diagnosis of chronic GVHD requiring systemic immunosuppressive treatment * Any prior local irradiation to a field that included the thymus (total body irradiation is allowed) * History of thymectomy * Use of rabbit antithymocyte globulin in the pretransplant conditioning regimen * Use of a graft depleted of T cells * Any evidence of recurrent or persistent malignancy after HCT * Participation in another study with chronic GVHD as the primary endpoint * Any prior history of carcinoma * Any infection that is not improving during appropriate treatment * History of palifermin intolerance * A positive pregnancy test (women of child-bearing potential) * Breast feeding