EDITORIAL
Vasculitis
Should rituximab be used to treat antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody associated vasculitis?
1 Botnar Research Centre, University of Oxford, Windmill Road, Oxford OX3 7LD, UK
2 Vasculitis Unit, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QQ, UK
Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr R A Luqmani
raashid.luqmani@noc.anglox.nhs.uk
It remains to be seen whether rituximab can live up to the high expectations and offer a more effective treatment for patients with AASV
Keywords: Wegener’s granulomatosis; ANCA associated systemic vasculitis; rituximab; cyclophosphamide
| The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below. |
The antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA) associated systemic vasculitides (AASV) are a group of multisystem diseases characterised by a predominantly small vessel vasculitis and the occurrence of ANCA in most, but not all, cases. The two main forms of AASV are distinguished by the presence of granulomata and destructive lesions of the upper respiratory tract in Wegener’s granulomatosis (WG), which are absent in microscopic polyangiitis (MPA).
Despite significant progress in the management of these diseases, there are still no fully satisfactory treatments for patients with either refractory or frequently relapsing disease. Current standard immunosuppressive treatment reduces mortality substantially, but a large proportion of patients, particularly those with WG, follow a frequently relapsing course.1 These patients are at high risk of cumulative toxicity from current treatments and also of increasing damage due to active disease.2 Cytotoxic drugs, especially cyclophosphamide, carry a substantial risk of severe side effects such as infertility and
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This article has been cited by other articles:
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Bosch, X., Guilabert, A., Espinosa, G., Mirapeix, E.
(2007). Treatment of Antineutrophil Cytoplasmic Antibody Associated Vasculitis: A Systematic Review. JAMA
298: 655-669
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