Using a low-volume method of extracorporeal photochemotherapy. Description of clinical cases

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has proven effective in the treatment of several diseases, including acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In its standard version, ECP requires leukapheresis to obtain a fraction of mononuclear cells. The possibility of using leukapheresis is limited by the requirements for vascular access and the somatic status of the patient. In the Dmitry Rogachev National Medical Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology, Ministry of Health of Russia was developed a new ECP method that does not require leukapheresis. This paper presents a description of two clinical cases of severe refractory GVHD treated by micro-ECP.