Simulect (basiliximab) / Novartis - LARVOL DELTA

OUTCOMES OF EVEROLIMUS-BASED IMMUNOSUPPRESSION AFTER LIVER TRANSPLANTATION FOR HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA WITH OR WITHOUT STEROID INDUCTION (UEGW 2026) - "Patients at ISMETT received steroid-free induction with basiliximab, while Bergamo patients received steroid induction. Everolimus-based immunosuppression is safe after LT for HCC, even within steroid-free induction protocols. However, everolimus monotherapy may increase the risk of ACR. CNI-minimization strategies appear feasible when carefully selected and monitored."

Fibrosis • Hepatocellular Cancer • Hepatology • Immunology • Oncology • Solid Tumor • Transplantation

HTLV-1 Infection Following Liver Transplantation: A Rare Case of Donor-Derived Infection (ACG 2026) - "Immunosuppression management included basiliximab, tacrolimus, and mycophenolate mofetil. Although HTLV-1 has a long latency period of 10 to 30 years with a lifetime risk of 2-5% for HAM/TSP and ATLL, the diagnosis prompts concern in immunocompromised recipients. More studies are necessary to better understand appropriate management and screening of donor-associated HTLV transmission."

Clinical • Adult T-Cell Leukemia-Lymphoma • Fibrosis • Genetic Disorders • Hematological Malignancies • Hepatology • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Leukemia • Liver Failure • Lymphoma • Nephrology • Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma • Renal Disease • Septic Shock • Solid Organ Transplantation • Transplantation

Multifactorial Encephalopathy: A Challenging Case of Tacrolimus Toxicity, Posterior Reversible Encephalopathy Syndrome (PRES), and Steroid Delirium in a Post-Transplant Patient (ACG 2026) - "An MRI was performed revealing PRES, as a result cyclosporine was discontinued and he was maintained on weekly basiliximab, prednisone and mycophenolate...Four weeks post transplant, he was initiated on everolimus with improvement in liver enzymes and he was discharged with full neurologic recovery...While tacrolimus is typically considered more likely to pose neurotoxic side effects than cyclosporine, patients with malnutrition may be at significant risk of cyclosporine induced toxicity. Calcineurin inhibitors are the cornerstone of therapy post-transplant; however, this paradigm must be challenged in cases of PRES refractory to first line measures."

Clinical • Post-transplantation • CNS Disorders • Gastroenterology • Gastrointestinal Disorder • Hepatology • Immunology • Inflammatory Bowel Disease • Insomnia • Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis • Sleep Disorder • Transplantation • Ulcerative Colitis

Treatment of Refractory Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor-Mediated Hepatobiliary Toxicity With Interleukin-2 Receptor Alpha Blockade: A Case Study (ACG 2026) - "After pelvic radiation and cisplatin treatment, she started treatment with bispecific immune checkpoint inhibitors (anti-PD-1/CTLA-4)...Ursodiol and IV methylprednisolone were initiated...Despite intravenous (IV) tocilizumab (TCZ) infusion and a brief period of mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) therapy, ALT continued to rise to 2400s with ongoing hyperbilirubinemia and progressive INR elevation...Although MMF, tacrolimus, TCZ, and infliximab have been previously described as effective adjunctive agents to overcome steroid-refractoriness in high-grade IMH, IL-2R a blockade as a treatment modality in this context has been reported only once as a case report in the medical literature (Zarrabi et al...Additional studies are needed to understand the mechanism of basiliximab as it relates to immune modulation and the intersection with liver recovery...The patient exhibited insufficient response despite systemic steroids with prednisone and ursodiol...She exhibited no acute liver..."

Case study • Checkpoint inhibition • Clinical • Cervical Cancer • Hepatology • Immune Modulation • Immunology • Liver Failure • Oncology • Solid Tumor • IL2RA

Rare but Fatal: Acute Graft vs Host Disease Following Liver Transplantation (ACG 2026) - "Induction consisted of methylprednisolone 500 mg IV, followed by tacrolimus 1 mg BID and mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) 500 mg BID...The patient received hydrocortisone 100 mg IV every 8 hours and was transferred to the transplant center, where he was treated with etanercept and intravenous immunoglobulin followed by a steroid taper...The donor-recipient age difference was 12 years, below the >20-year threshold associated with increased mortality, and the absence of basiliximab induction may also have been favorable...B) Milibiform-like eczematous patches. Figure: Figure 2: Right chest punch biopsy showing vacuolar interface dermatitis with adnexal involvement and eosinophils consistent with acute graft-versus-host disease."

Acute Graft versus Host Disease • Atopic Dermatitis • Colorectal Cancer • Dermatitis • Eosinophilia • Fibrosis • Graft versus Host Disease • Hematological Disorders • Hepatology • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Leukopenia • Metabolic Disorders • Thrombocytopenia • Transplantation

Locus-specific HLA matching and induction therapy in simultaneous pancreas-kidney transplantation: a national UK cohort study. (PubMed, Transpl Int) - "No significant survival difference was seen between Alemtuzumab and Basiliximab induction therapy. Induction therapy and HLA-mismatch status were not associated with pancreas graft outcome in this large registry study."

Journal • Retrospective data • Transplantation

Impact of kidney and liver transplant immunosuppression regimens on sinonasal disease. (PubMed, Am J Otolaryngol) - "When comparing common immunosuppression for kidney and liver transplant, basiliximab was associated with a higher rate of sinonasal disease and AR compared to ATG. For maintenance immunosuppression, treatment with tacrolimus-based regimens was associated with a higher rate of AR and acute IFS."

Journal • Allergic Rhinitis • Chronic Rhinosinusitis With Nasal Polyps • Immunology • Inflammation • Nasal Polyps • Otorhinolaryngology • Respiratory Diseases • Sinusitis • Solid Organ Transplantation • Transplantation

Novel therapies for refractory idiopathic inflammatory myopathy-associated interstitial lung disease. (PubMed, Curr Opin Rheumatol) - "Across these agents, evidence is confined to case reports, small series, and observational cohorts, with few randomized trials reporting IIM-ILD-specific outcomes. Prospective studies are needed to define patient selection, treatment sequencing and combinations, durability, and safety of novel therapies in IIM-ILD."

Journal • Dermatomyositis • Immunology • Interstitial Lung Disease • Melanoma • Myositis • Oncology • Pulmonary Disease • Rare Diseases • Respiratory Diseases • Rheumatology • Solid Tumor • IFIH1

Immune monitoring by Torque Teno virus load in addition to virus-specific T cells after pediatric kidney transplantation. (PubMed, Clin Kidney J) - "The immunosuppressive therapy consisted of basiliximab, cyclosporine A (CsA), everolimus (Eve), and prednisolone. TTV-DNA was associated with post-Tx follow-up time and with immunosuppressants after pediatric Tx. In comparison to ADV-Tvis minimum, the mean TTV-DNA showed a late peak at 3 mo post-Tx suggesting delayed response to drug dose changes."

Journal • Pediatrics • Transplantation • CD4

TTBF-Aged SAA: Thiotepa-Based Conditioning for Haploidentical HSCT in Older Patients With Severe Aplastic Anemia (clinicaltrials.gov) - P=N/A | N=10 | Not yet recruiting | Sponsor: Peking University People's Hospital

New trial • Anemia • Aplastic Anemia • Bone Marrow Transplantation • Hematological Disorders • Transplantation

JAK inhibition in a kidney transplant recipient with primary myelofibrosis (TTS 2026) - "Induction immunosuppression included basiliximab and methylprednisolone, followed by maintenance tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil, with dose reduction due to PMF...Subsequently, the patient developed biopsy-proven allograft rejection leading to ruxolitinib discontinuation and transition to the second-generation JAK inhibitor, fedratinib... This case illustrates the complexity of managing concurrent JAK inhibitor therapy and transplant immunosuppression. As JAK inhibitors become more widely used, careful titration of overall immunosuppressive burden, multidisciplinary collaboration, and close virological and graft monitoring will be increasingly important. Whilst further experience is needed to guide their safe use in transplant recipients."

Clinical • Glomerulonephritis • IgA Nephropathy • Immunology • Infectious Disease • Myelofibrosis • Nephrology • Solid Organ Transplantation • Transplant Rejection • Transplantation

Post renal transplant myeloma--An experience from tertiary care hospital. (TTS 2026) - "Basiliximab induction was used in 3/4 cases; maintenance immunosuppression was predominantly cyclosporine/azathioprine/prednisolone (tacrolimus/mycophenolate/prednisolone in 1 case)...Therapies included thalidomide/prednisone, melphalan/prednisone, and bortezomib-based regimens, with local radiotherapy for skeletal disease in one patient... In this retrospective review, post renal transplant multiple myeloma was uncommon but associated with very short survival and fatal infection. Unexplained anemia with bone pain, fragility fractures, or lytic lesions in transplant recipients should prompt evaluation for plasma cell dyscrasia to facilitate timely diagnosis and treatment."

Clinical • Back Pain • Hematological Malignancies • Hepatitis C • Hepatology • Infectious Disease • Multiple Myeloma • Musculoskeletal Diseases • Musculoskeletal Pain • Nephrology • Orthopedics • Plasmacytoma • Transplantation

Yttrium-90 Anti-CD25-BEAM-Conditioning for Autologous Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation in Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma. (PubMed, Blood Adv) - P1 | "In this phase 1 clinical trial, we tested the addition of beta-emitting 90Y-labeled chimeric anti-CD25 basiliximab (aTac) to BEAM (carmustine, etoposide, cytarabine, melphalan) as conditioning for AHCT in patients with PTCL. 90Y-aTac-BEAM appears to be safe as an AHCT conditioning regimen for PTCL, with no increased toxicity over the toxicities historically seen with BEAM alone in this patient population. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as # NCT02342782."

Journal • Hematological Malignancies • Lymphoma • Mucositis • Oncology • Peripheral T-cell Lymphoma • T Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma • Transplantation

Tumor burden rather than incidence of acute rejection indicates 1-year OFS and RFS (TTS 2026) - "All patients were managed with an identical perioperative pathway, including basiliximab and steroid induction, early tacrolimus initiation, conversion to sirolimus within 10–20 days, minimized calcineurin inhibitor exposure, and strict TDM. Within a standardized perioperative management pathway incorporating induction therapy, early mTOR-inhibitor conversion, reduced tacrolimus exposure, and rigorous TDM, ICI exposure did not increase the risk of post-transplant acute rejection. Instead, pre-transplant tumor burden was the principal determinant of 1-year OS and RFS. These findings challenge prior assumptions linking ICIs to heightened rejection risk and underscore the need for harmonized IS protocols, immune monitoring, and transparent reporting in future multicenter studies."

Hepatocellular Cancer • Oncology • Solid Tumor • Transplant Rejection

Impact of antibody-mediated rejection detected on one-year protocol biopsies on long-term kidney allograft survival. (PubMed, Front Med (Lausanne)) - "The treatment consists of induction therapy, Anti-Thymocyte Globulin (ATG) or Basiliximab, and standard triple immunosuppressive therapy: steroids, Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), and calcineurin inhibitors. These findings suggest that one-year protocol biopsies may provide useful prognostic information for identifying recipients at increased risk of long-term graft loss. However, given the small sample size, limited number of graft failure events, and observational study design, these findings should be interpreted as an association rather than evidence of a definitive prognostic effect and require confirmation in larger, preferably multicenter cohorts."

Journal • Antibody-mediated Rejection • Chronic Kidney Disease • Nephrology • Transplantation

Alemtuzumab or basiliximab: Rethinking induction choice beyond acute rejection in kidney transplantation. (PubMed, World J Transplant) - "These findings highlight a central paradox in transplant immunology: Strategies that achieve potent early immune suppression may incur delayed biological costs related to immune reconstitution, impaired immune surveillance, and cumulative graft injury. Collectively, the data argue for a shift away from rejection-centred metrics toward a more proportional and individualised approach to induction selection, in which long-term graft preservation and complication risk are weighed as carefully as early rejection prevention."

Journal • Review • Cytomegalovirus Infection • Oncology • Transplant Rejection • Transplantation

Reply: Chronic kidney disease after liver transplantation: Accurate measurement, early acute kidney injury, and renal-protective strategies. (PubMed, World J Transplant) - "We share their central position and welcome the weight they give to perioperative acute kidney injury (AKI), to calcineurin inhibitor minimisation through basiliximab induction and mycophenolate, and to the disciplined control of hypertension and metabolic disease...The third is therapeutic, because the prevailing synthesis omits the sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, agents with established renal benefit in non-transplant CKD populations that deserve formal evaluation after LT. Measured accurately, protected early and evaluated pharmacologically, the kidney of the liver transplant recipient is more defensible than current practice assumes."

Journal • Acute Kidney Injury • Cardiovascular • Chronic Kidney Disease • Hepatology • Hypertension • Metabolic Disorders • Nephrology • Renal Disease • Transplantation

Clinical outcome with low dose CMV prophylaxis in Indian kidney transplant recipients (TTS 2026) - "24 patients received Basiliximab induction, 25 rabbit-anti-thymocyte globulin (r-ATG) and 26 did not receive any induction agent besides steroids...One out of 75 patients developed CMV disease during follow up, and received IV ganciclovir therapy... Low dose valganciclovir seems to be effective in preventing CMV in low risk(R+) transplants but continues to be poorly tolerated with high incidence of leucopenia. Long term follow-up will assess the impact on burden of CMV disease and graft and patient survival."

Clinical • Clinical data • Cytomegalovirus Infection • Hematological Disorders • Infectious Disease • Leukopenia • Nephrology • Transplantation

CMV specific cell mediated immunity profile in Indian kidney transplant recipients (TTS 2026) - "24 patients received Basiliximab induction, 39 rabbit-anti-thymocyte globulin (r-ATG) and 37 did not receive any induction agent besides steroids. About half of patients developed CMV CMI at 1 month in our study population. Discontinuing valganciclovir in these patients may avoid anti-viral adverse effects and cost of therapy. References: De Keyzer K, Van Laecke S, Peeters P, Vanholder R. Human cytomegalovirus and kidney transplantation: a clinician's update."

Clinical • Cytomegalovirus Infection • Infectious Disease • Nephrology • Renal Disease • Transplantation

ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation without desensitization - A German multicenter cohort study (TTS 2026) - "Current desensitization protocols typically combine plasma exchange or immunoadsorption (PLEX) with rituximab (RTX)...Maintenance immunosuppression mainly consisted of basiliximab induction followed by tacrolimus, mycophenolate mofetil, and steroids; approximately 20% received IVIG... In carefully selected patients with low baseline ABO isoagglutinin titers, ABOi-LDKT without desensitization appears safe and provides comparable short-term graft function, rejection rates, and patient/graft survival. Avoiding RTX may reduce severe infections requiring hospitalization."

Clinical • Antibody-mediated Rejection • Infectious Disease • Transplantation

First living donor renal transplantation of a HIV positive patient from a HIV positive donor in Southeast Asia: Changing paradigms in modern medicine (TTS 2026) - "Induction immunosuppression comprised of intravenous methylprednisolone and Basiliximab, followed by maintenance immunosuppression with prednisolone, tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil. Living donor kidney transplantation can be successfully performed between carefully selected HIV + recipients and donors thorough multidisciplinary evaluation and care, thereby expanding the donor pool in Southeast Asian countries."

Clinical • Candidiasis • Chronic Kidney Disease • Diabetic Nephropathy • Human Immunodeficiency Virus • Infectious Disease • Metabolic Disorders • Nephrology • Pancreatitis • Renal Disease • Solid Organ Transplantation • Transplantation • CD4

Tacrolimus Exposure Variability and Viral Infection Risk after Kidney Transplantation: A Stratified Analysis Using TTR and CV (TTS 2026) - "Patients were stratified by donor type (LDKT/DDKT) and induction therapy (Basiliximab/ATG)... Early Tacrolimus exposure variability and over-exposure (TTR_high) were not independent predictors of viral infection within the first year. The profound immunological impact of ATG induction supersedes pharmacokinetic fluctuations in determining CMV risk. Clinicians should maintain rigorous viral prophylaxis and monitoring in ATG-treated patients regardless of Tacrolimus stability."

Cytomegalovirus Infection • Infectious Disease • Transplantation

Equine antithymocyte globulin versus Basiliximab for induction immunosuppression in living donor kidney transplantation: efficacy safety and feasibility in low resource setting (TTS 2026) - "Furthermore, Rabbit ATG is costly. Induction therapy with equine ATG (eATG) in low immunological risk recipients demonstrated a favorable safety profile, characterized by a lower incidence of BPAR and infectious complications. Furthermore, intermediate-term follow-up revealed that the use of eATG offers significant cost benefits in resource-limited settings such as Sri Lanka."

Clinical • Infectious Disease • Transplant Rejection • Transplantation

Induction immunosuppression strategy and long-term graft and patient survival in contemporary adult liver transplantation: A United States allocation-era reassessment (TTS 2026) - "Induction regimens were categorized as none, antithymocyte globulin (ATG), or interleukin-2 receptor antagonists (IL-2RA; basiliximab/daclizumab). Maintenance immunosuppression at discharge was classified as CNI-only, CNI+steroids, CNI+mycophenolate mofetil (MMF), or triple therapy (CNI+MMF+steroids)... Induction practice remains heterogeneous across U.S. adult liver transplantation. ATG induction was associated with improved graft and patient survival and fewer hospitalizations, whereas IL-2RA was associated with higher rates of rejection and rehospitalization without a survival benefit. These findings support risk-informed induction selection and prospective evaluation of optimal induction and maintenance combinations."

Clinical • Transplant Rejection • Transplantation • IL2RA

A case of severe mixed rejection after a living kidney transplant with a cadaveric donor vein (TTS 2026) - "The patient received induction basiliximab, methylprednisolone, and was maintained on tacrolimus (levels 7-8μg/L), mycophenolate mofetil 1g twice daily and prednisolone...She was treated with three pulses of intravenous methylprednisolone 500mg and is now maintained on monthly IVIG, tacrolimus (levels 7-9μg/L), mycophenolate 500mg three times daily, and prednisolone 10mg with serum creatinine 90μmol/L... This case highlights a complicated case of rejection in the setting of a third-party VA. While antibody-mediated rejection with dnDSAs to both donor kidney and VA were observed, the anti-VA dnDSAs were stronger and more varied. We believe the presence of the VA may have been the driver of the rejection we observed."

Clinical • Antibody-mediated Rejection • Hematological Disorders • Inflammation • Neutropenia • Transplantation • HLA-DRB1