High response rate to low‐dose rituximab plus high‐dose dexamethasone as frontline therapy in adult patients with primary immune thrombocytopenia

Authors:
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Corticosteroids as initial therapy for primary immune thrombocytopenia achieve a low rate of sustained remission.Methods: We prospectively evaluated the efficacy, safety, and response duration of low‐dose rituximab plus high‐dose dexamethasone as frontline therapy in newly diagnosed primary immune thrombocytopenia patients. One cycle of dexamethasone, 40 mg/d/intravenously for four consecutive days, plus weekly intravenous rituximab, 100 mg for four doses, was delivered.Results: Twenty‐one consecutive adults were enrolled. The overall response at day +28 was 90.5%. Complete sustained response at 6 months and relapse rate were 76.2% and 15.8%, respectively, compared with 30% and 62.5% for a historical group who had received standard treatment with prednisone (P = 0.005 and P = 0.004). There was a 9.5% incidence of adverse effects.Conclusions: The combination of low‐dose rituximab and high‐dose dexamethasone as frontline therapy for adults with primary immune thrombocytopenia was effective and had a high overall response rate and a low incidence of relapse.

This publication has 32 references indexed in Scilit: