Effective in the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, some autoimmune diseases and rejection of solid-organ grafts and chronic graft-versus-host disease.
An immunotherapy performed on blood via intravenous access whereby a portion of blood is removed and separated into white blood cell and red blood cell containing portions.
The leucocytes are passed through a thin plastic plate to UV light in the presence of the photo-activatable chemical psoralen.
The exposure to cells induces apoptosis of T cells induction of dentritic cells and stimulation of monocytes.
When used in cutaneous T cell lymphomas the disease may disappear from both the skin and blood indicating the malignant T cells are immunogenic and express tumor associated antigens that can be recognized by CD8+ killer T cells.
The best candidates for treatment are patients with residual immunocompetence.
Effective in cutaneous T cell lymphoma, graft-versus-host-disease, scleroderma, organ transplant rejection and other autoimmune states.