Rituximab for eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis: a systematic review of observational studies.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To analyse the available evidence about the use of rituximab (RTX) and other biologic agents in eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis (EGPA) patients and to provide useful findings to inform the design of future, reliable clinical trials.

METHODS:

A systematic review was performed. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science and the Cochrane library databases on RTX, and an extensive literature search was conducted on other biologic agents.

RESULTS:

Forty-five papers pertinent to our questions were found: 16 retrospective cohort studies, 8 case series, 3 prospective cohort studies and 18 single case reports, for a total of 368 EGPA patients. More than 80% of evaluable patients achieved complete or partial remission with a tendency towards a higher rate of complete response in the pANCA-positive subgroup.

CONCLUSION:

Although the majority of the evaluable EGPA patients treated with RTX appears to achieve complete remission, we strongly believe that a number of sources of heterogeneity impair a clear interpretation of results and limit their transferability in clinical practice. Differences in design, enrolment criteria, outcome definition and measurement make a comparison among data obtained from studies on RTX and other biologic agents unreliable.

• Authors: Vincenzo G Menditto, Giulia Rossetti, Diletta Olivari, Alessia Angeletti, Marco Rocchi, Armando Gabrielli, Giovanni Pomponio
• Journal: Rheumatology (Oxford, England) (Rheumatology (Oxford)) Vol. 60 Issue 4 Pg. 1640-1650 (04 06 2021) ISSN: 1462-0332 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 33471122 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Systematic Review)
• Copyright: © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: [email protected].

Chemical References

• Immunosuppressive Agents
• Rituximab

Topics

• Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (drug therapy)
• Humans
• Immunosuppressive Agents (therapeutic use)
• Observational Studies as Topic
• Remission Induction
• Rituximab (therapeutic use)
• Treatment Outcome