RT Journal Article
T1 Off-label use of rituximab for systemic lupus erythematosus in Europe
A1 Ryden-Aulin, Monica
A1 Boumpas, Dimitrios
A1 Bultink, Irene
A1 Rubio, Jose Luis Callejas
A1 Caminal-Montero, Luis
A1 Castro, Antoni
A1 Colodro Ruiz, Agustin
A1 Doria, Andrea
A1 Domer, Thomas
A1 Gonzalez-Echavarri, Cristina
A1 Gremese, Elisa
A1 Houssiau, Frederic A.
A1 Huizinga, Tom
A1 Inana, Murat
A1 Isenberg, David
A1 Luliano, Annamaria
A1 Jacobsen, Soren
A1 Jimenez-Alonso, Juan
A1 Kovacs, Laszlo
A1 Mariette, Xavier
A1 Mosca, Marta
A1 Nived, Ola
A1 Oristrell, Joaquim
A1 Ramos-Casals, Manuel
A1 Rascon, Javier
A1 Ruiz-Irastorza, Guillermo
A1 Saez-Comet, Luis
A1 Salvador Cervello, Gonzalo
A1 Ruiz-Irastorza, Guillermo
A1 Saez-Comet, Luis
A1 Cervello, Gonzalo Salvador
A1 Sebastiani, Gian Domenico
A1 Squatrito, Danilo
A1 Szucs, Gabriella
A1 Voskuyl, Alexandre
A1 van Vollenhoven, Ronald
AB Objectives: Rituximab (RTX) is a biological treatment used off-label in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This survey aimed to investigate the off-label use of RTX in Europe and compare the characteristics of patients receiving RTX with those receiving conventional therapy.Methods: Data on patients with SLE receiving RTX were taken from the International Registry for Biologics in SLE retrospective registry and complemented with data on patients with SLE treated with conventional therapy. For nationwide estimates of RTX use in patients with SLE, investigators were asked to provide data through case report forms (CRFs). Countries for which no data were submitted through CRFs, published literature and/or personal communication were used, and for European countries where no data were available, estimates were made on the assumption of similarities with neighbouring countries.Results: The estimated off-label use of RTX in Europe was 0.5%-1.5% of all patients with SLE. In comparison with patients with SLE on conventional therapy, patients treated with RTX had longer disease duration, higher disease activity and were more often treated with immunosuppressives. The most frequent organ manifestations for which either RTX or conventional therapy was initiated were lupus nephritis followed by musculoskeletal and haematological. The reason for treatment was, besides disease control, corticosteroid-sparing for patients treated with conventional therapy.Conclusions: RTX use for SLE in Europe is restrictive and appears to be used as a last resort in patients for whom other reasonable options have been exhausted.
PB Bmj publishing group
SN 2053-8790
YR 2016
FD 2016-01-01
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/19040
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/19040
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 6, 2025