Aggarwal Anita, Catlett Joseph P
Department of Medical Oncology/Hematology, Washington Cancer Institute, Washington, DC 20010, USA.
South Med J. 2002 Oct;95(10):1209-12.
Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoimmune disease characterized by antibody-mediated platelet destruction. Despite initial response to corticosteroids, most adults relapse during steroid taper, and splenectomy is the treatment of choice for these patients. Those whom splenectomy fails to cure present a therapeutic challenge. Subsequent management usually involves some form of chronic immune suppression, which has serious side effects and long-term morbidity. Rituximab, a recently-approved anti-CD20 chimeric monoclonal antibody, has shown efficacy in preliminary studies. We report the cases of 3 patients with refractory ITP who achieved acceptable platelet counts after treatment with rituximab.
免疫性血小板减少性紫癜（ITP）是一种自身免疫性疾病，其特征为抗体介导的血小板破坏。尽管最初对皮质类固醇有反应，但大多数成年患者在减停类固醇药物期间会复发，脾切除术是这些患者的首选治疗方法。脾切除术未能治愈的患者面临治疗挑战。后续治疗通常涉及某种形式的慢性免疫抑制，这会带来严重的副作用和长期发病率。利妥昔单抗是一种最近获批的抗CD20嵌合单克隆抗体，在初步研究中已显示出疗效。我们报告了3例难治性ITP患者的病例，这些患者在接受利妥昔单抗治疗后血小板计数达到了可接受的水平。
