Molecular matching tools for allocation and immunosuppression optimization. Ready for primetime?

Abstract

Purpose of review: Molecular matching continues to be an important topic in organ transplantation. Over the years, several studies - larger and smaller - supported correlations of molecular incompatibility loads and clinical outcomes. However, their practical utility for clinical decision making remains controversial and there is no consensus on the context in which they should be used.

Recent findings: The recent literature on molecular matching can be divided into four main areas of research: several groups present improvements of the algorithmic pipelines (1), increasing the robustness of previous findings. Further clinical evidence is reported (2) in various cohorts and other organ transplant domains, such as liver and lung transplantation. Consideration is given to the application of molecular matching in the allocation of deceased organs (3), suggesting options to improve allocation equity and utility. Furthermore, evidence is provided for personalized immunosuppression based on immunological risk (4), including infection and post graft failure management.

Summary: There is ample evidence that current molecular matching algorithms add value to immunologic risk stratification for organ transplant recipients. First studies on how to translate these insights into patient management with respect to organ allocation and personalized medicine are underway and require further support.