Advances in immunosuppression after lung transplantation

Immunosuppression in transplantation has experienced changes in recent years as a result of the introduction of new drugs that act upon the different pathways of the host immune response with the purpose of securing more individualized immune suppression, with fewer side effects. Although following in the steps of other solid organ transplant modalities, lung transplantation, because of its special characteristics, has not yielded similar middle- and long-term results. Improved understanding of the underlying rejection mechanisms, the pharmacodynamic control of drugs, new administration routes designed to reduce the side effects, and new drug substances or immune modulating processes will all contribute to improve the expectations associated to lung transplantation in the near future.