Lower dose of rituximab in the treatment of elderly autoimmune hemolytic anemia.
- Author:
Xiaokun ZHANG
1
;
Jie SUN
1
Author Information
- Publication Type:Clinical Trial
- MeSH: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Anemia, Hemolytic, Autoimmune; drug therapy; Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; administration & dosage; adverse effects; therapeutic use; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Prednisone; therapeutic use; Rituximab; Treatment Outcome
- From: Chinese Journal of Hematology 2014;35(3):236-238
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
OBJECTIVETo explore the safety and efficacy of lower dose of rituximab in the treatment of elderly autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA).
METHODSFrom May 2008 to February 2013, a total of 37 patients with newly diagnosed elderly AIHA patients were enrolled in the study, including 25 cases treated with prednisone 1 mg · kg⁻¹ · d⁻¹ for 4 weeks and 12 cases ineligible for glucocorticoid receiving rituximab (100 mg/week for 4 times).
RESULTSOf the 25 patients with conventional glucocorticoid, 5 cases (20.0%) were complete remission (CR), 15 cases with partial remission (PR) and 5 cases without response. The overall response rate was 80.0%. Of the 12 cases with rituximab, 8 cases (66.7%) were CR, 3 cases with PR and 1 without response. The overall response rate was 91.7%. A significantly higher CR rate was seen in lower dose of rituximab, as compared to that in conventional glucocorticoid (P=0.038).
CONCLUSIONA lower dose of rituximab, with satisfactory safety and efficacy, was better than the conventional glucocorticoid in the treatment of elderly AIHA patients.
