Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Transplant. Jun 18, 2026; 16(2): 118962
Published online Jun 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v16.i2.118962
Published online Jun 18, 2026. doi: 10.5500/wjt.v16.i2.118962
Letter to the Editor: Induction therapy as a long-term commitment: Lessons from comparative outcomes of alemtuzumab and basiliximab
Luca Galassi, Postgraduate School of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery, University of Milan, Milan 20122, Lombardy, Italy
Erica Altamura, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan, Milan 20122, Lombardy, Italy
Lina Azzahrani, School of Health Studies, University of Western Ontario, London N6A 3K7, Ontario, Canada
Federica Facchinetti, School of Medicine and Surgery, University of Milan-Bicocca, Monza 20900, Lombardy, Italy
Matteo Lino Ravini, Vascular and Endovascular Unit, IRCCS Ospedale Galeazzi - Sant’Am
Co-corresponding authors: Luca Galassi and Erica Altamura.
Author contributions: Galassi L, Altamura E, Azzahrani L, Facchinetti F, and Ravini ML contributed to writing - review and editing; Galassi L, Altamura E, and Facchinetti F contributed to methodology, writing - original draft preparation; Galassi L, Altamura E, Facchinetti F, and Ravini ML contributed to conceptualization, Galassi L, Facchinetti F, and Ravini ML contributed to validation; Galassi L and Altamura E contributed equally to this manuscript and are co-corresponding authors. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
AI contribution statement: The manuscript was not generated using artificial intelligence tools. However, standard digital tools embedded in word processing software have been used for basic grammar and spelling checks during the revision process, as is common in academic writing.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Corresponding author: Luca Galassi, MD, Lecturer, Researcher, Postgraduate School of Vas
Received: January 15, 2026
Revised: February 9, 2026
Accepted: March 9, 2026
Published online: June 18, 2026
Processing time: 134 Days and 14.3 Hours
Revised: February 9, 2026
Accepted: March 9, 2026
Published online: June 18, 2026
Processing time: 134 Days and 14.3 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: The choice of induction therapy in kidney transplantation has commonly been centered around short-term rejection outcomes, which do not reliably predict the long-term safety and graft outcomes. Evidence reveals that, despite similar rejection rates, alemtuzumab is associated with increased risks of infection and malignancy and reduced graft survival among standard-risk recipients. These data support a risk-stratified approach to induction therapy, advocating non-lymphocyte-depleting agents for standard-risk patients and reserving lymphocyte-depleting induction for selected high-risk recipients.