Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) is a UV light-based cell therapy originally developed for the treatment of skin cancer (T-cell lymphomas). Since the early 1990s, it has also been used to treat chronic rejection following lung transplantation. With the current study, the Vienna Lung Transplant Program has taken a pioneering role in the use of ECP, applying it to treat both acute and chronic rejection, as well as certain antibody-related complications.
Peter Jaksch:
"Although clinical experience in various transplant settings has shown promising results, much of the existing data comes from single-center studies that often lacked appropriate control groups and involved the use of ECP only in selected patients. Our study addresses all of these limitations and was able to demonstrate that ECP reduces the risk of chronic rejection and infections."
Alberto Benazzo:
"This study would not have been possible without the collaboration of multiple disciplines and dedicated contributors. I would especially like to highlight Robert Knobler, a pioneer of ECP in Vienna, with whom we have been working for more than ten years. Moreover, the close collaboration between the Department of Dermatology, the Department of Transfusion Medicine and Cell Therapy, the Transplant Immunology Unit at the Department of General Surgery, and the Department of Thoracic Surgery once again highlights the outstanding multidisciplinary cooperation at MedUni Vienna and AKH Vienna."
The study was published in the European Respiratory Journal:
https://doi.org/10.1183/13993003.00733-2024