Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019
BackgroundThe B-cell-depleting anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (RTX) is often used as an adjuvant drug for the treatment of refractory cases of mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP).ObjectiveThis study aims to determine the therapeutic effectiveness and the safety profile of RTX in MMP.MethodsThe medical re...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Immunology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1180150/full |
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| author | Florian Bamberger Inke R. König Inke R. König Damian Gola Detlef Zillikens Detlef Zillikens Christian D. Sadik Christian D. Sadik |
| author_facet | Florian Bamberger Inke R. König Inke R. König Damian Gola Detlef Zillikens Detlef Zillikens Christian D. Sadik Christian D. Sadik |
| author_sort | Florian Bamberger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundThe B-cell-depleting anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (RTX) is often used as an adjuvant drug for the treatment of refractory cases of mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP).ObjectiveThis study aims to determine the therapeutic effectiveness and the safety profile of RTX in MMP.MethodsThe medical records of all cases of MMP treated with RTX between 2008 and 2019 in our university medical center located in northern Germany, which specialized in autoimmune blistering skin diseases, were retrieved and systemically analyzed for treatment responses and potential adverse events over a median period of 27 months.ResultsWe identified 18 MMP patients who received at least one cycle of RTX to treat MMP. RTX was always used as an adjuvant treatment, and its application did not change concomitant treatments. Under treatment with RTX, 67% of the patients achieved an improvement in their disease activity within 6 months. This was also reflected in a statistically significant reduction in the Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid Disease Index (MMPDAI) activity score. The frequency of infections under RTX treatment increased only slightly.ConclusionsThe use of RTX is associated with an attenuation of MMP in a large proportion of MMP patients in our study. At the same time, its application was not found to further increase the susceptibility of the most strongly immunocompromised population of MMP patients to opportunistic infections. Collectively, our results suggest that the potential benefits of RTX outweigh its risks in patients with refractory MMP. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:31:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3c96a2a27eab41849c893bed04112bb0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-3224 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:31:13Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Immunology |
| spelling | doaj.art-3c96a2a27eab41849c893bed04112bb02023-04-18T05:16:06ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Immunology1664-32242023-04-011410.3389/fimmu.2023.11801501180150Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019Florian Bamberger0Inke R. König1Inke R. König2Damian Gola3Detlef Zillikens4Detlef Zillikens5Christian D. Sadik6Christian D. Sadik7Department of Dermatology, Allergy, and Venereology, Lübeck, GermanyInstitute of Medical Biometry and Statistics (IMBS), Lübeck, GermanyCenter for Research on Inflammation of the Skin (CRIS), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, GermanyInstitute of Medical Biometry and Statistics (IMBS), Lübeck, GermanyDepartment of Dermatology, Allergy, and Venereology, Lübeck, GermanyCenter for Research on Inflammation of the Skin (CRIS), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, GermanyDepartment of Dermatology, Allergy, and Venereology, Lübeck, GermanyCenter for Research on Inflammation of the Skin (CRIS), University of Lübeck, Lübeck, GermanyBackgroundThe B-cell-depleting anti-CD20 antibody rituximab (RTX) is often used as an adjuvant drug for the treatment of refractory cases of mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP).ObjectiveThis study aims to determine the therapeutic effectiveness and the safety profile of RTX in MMP.MethodsThe medical records of all cases of MMP treated with RTX between 2008 and 2019 in our university medical center located in northern Germany, which specialized in autoimmune blistering skin diseases, were retrieved and systemically analyzed for treatment responses and potential adverse events over a median period of 27 months.ResultsWe identified 18 MMP patients who received at least one cycle of RTX to treat MMP. RTX was always used as an adjuvant treatment, and its application did not change concomitant treatments. Under treatment with RTX, 67% of the patients achieved an improvement in their disease activity within 6 months. This was also reflected in a statistically significant reduction in the Mucous Membrane Pemphigoid Disease Index (MMPDAI) activity score. The frequency of infections under RTX treatment increased only slightly.ConclusionsThe use of RTX is associated with an attenuation of MMP in a large proportion of MMP patients in our study. At the same time, its application was not found to further increase the susceptibility of the most strongly immunocompromised population of MMP patients to opportunistic infections. Collectively, our results suggest that the potential benefits of RTX outweigh its risks in patients with refractory MMP.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1180150/fullmucous membrane pemphigoidrituximabpemphigoid diseaseautoantibodiesside-effectsB cell depletion |
| spellingShingle | Florian Bamberger Inke R. König Inke R. König Damian Gola Detlef Zillikens Detlef Zillikens Christian D. Sadik Christian D. Sadik Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019 Frontiers in Immunology mucous membrane pemphigoid rituximab pemphigoid disease autoantibodies side-effects B cell depletion |
| title | Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019 |
| title_full | Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019 |
| title_fullStr | Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019 |
| title_full_unstemmed | Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019 |
| title_short | Retrospective analysis of the long-term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a German university center between 2008 and 2019 |
| title_sort | retrospective analysis of the long term therapeutic effectiveness and safety profile of rituximab in the treatment of mucous membrane pemphigoid in a german university center between 2008 and 2019 |
| topic | mucous membrane pemphigoid rituximab pemphigoid disease autoantibodies side-effects B cell depletion |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1180150/full |
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