The main challenge for a positive long-term outcome in lung transplantation is the lack of early detection for chronic lung allograft dysfunction (CLAD). With advancements in technology, an increasing number of studies demonstrate that cell-free DNA (cfDNA) in body fluids could be used as a marker for disease diagnosis, prognosis or monitoring response to treatment. A previous report from this journal found the joint assessment of cfDNA and CXCL10 from brochoalveolar lavage (BAL) could determine the subphenotypes of CLAD and predict lung transplant survival. This is an exciting attempt in monitoring the progress for lung transplant recipients. More studies and better understanding of cfDNA are needed to develop an accessible and reliable biomarker to monitor the progress of CLAD to improve the long-term survival for lung transplant recipients.
Keywords: BAL; CLAD; CXCL10; cell-free DNA; cf-DNA; lung transplant.