Lung Transplantation and Extracorporeal Photopheresis as Induction Therapy in Cystic Fibrosis Patients: Immune System Profile Changes

Acute rejection (AR), common during the first year after lung transplantation (LuTx), can trigger chronic rejection (CR), the leading cause of late morbidity and mortality of LuTx. Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has emerged as a promising treatment for chronic rejection. Only few studies are focus on ECP as prophylactic therapy of AR and CR. This study aims to verify, in recipients affected by cystic fibrosis (CF), whether the induction therapy with ECP can decrease the rate of AR, in order to impact positively on CR (primary end point: survival, AR). The expected results are the reduction of AR episodes in its clinical and histopathological manifestations