E-CLAD UK Clinical Trial

A clinical trial of ECP for chronic rejection after lung transplantation

Newcastle experts are currently leading a UK-wide clinical trial that could offer new hope to lung transplant patients. 

The aim of the E-CLAD UK study is to see if adding a course of ECP to current treatment is more effective at stabilising the function of transplanted lungs compared to standard treatments for CLAD.

Andrew Fisher, Professor of Respiratory Transplant Medicine at Newcastle University, and Honorary Consultant Respiratory and Transplant Physician at The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s Institute of Transplantation, is leading the trial. 

Long-term survival after lung transplantation is limited compared with other organ transplants. The main cause is development of progressive immune-mediated damage to the lung allograft. This damage, which can develop via multiple immune pathways, is captured under the umbrella term chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). Despite the availability of powerful immunosuppressive drugs, there are presently no treatments proven to reverse or reliably halt the loss of lung function caused by CLAD. The aim of the E-CLAD UK trial is to determine whether the addition of immunomodulatory therapy, in the form of extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP), to standard care is more efficacious at stabilising lung function in CLAD compared with standard care alone.

The study aims to recruit 90 eligible patients over three years and will measure changes to quality of life, ability to exercise, and survival rates through a range of tests, such as blood samples and breathing tests. 

The E-CLAD UK study is being funded by the Efficacy and Mechanism Evaluation (EME) Programme, a National Institute for Health Research and Medical Research Council partnership. The project is sponsored by The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the trial involves the five adult lung transplantation centres in the UK (Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Cambridge). Three of these centres are part of NHS Trusts with their own ECP units. The other two centres will be supported by their local ECP centres (Manchester and Cambridge). 

If you would like more information on any of the Teams involved in the trial, you can visit the E-CLAD information website and contact the team via email at e-clad@newcastle.ac.uk.

The following video has been developed to introduce patients and the public to the E-CLAD UK trial.