POS0645 RITUXIMAB THERAPY IN THE INTERSTITIAL LUNG DISEASE OF RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors: E. F. Vicente-Rabaneda, J. De la Macorra, J. P. Baldivieso, F. Gutiérrez-Rodríguez, A. García-Vadillo, R. Garcia de Vicuna, S. Castañeda
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2021)

Background: Interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a severe manifestation of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), linked to increased mortality. There is still no consensus on the best therapeutic strategy as there aren’t yet randomized controlled trials. Objectives: To analyze the available scientific evidence on the efficacy and safety of rituximab (RTX) treatment of interstitial lung disease (ILD) associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Methods: A systematic search was carried out in PubMed until April 2020 following the PRISMA recommendations. Studies were selected according to the following inclusion criteria: (1) original research, including case series, case/control studies, cohort studies, and clinical trials; (2) population with RA and associated ILD, either monographically or together with other connective tissue diseases (CTD), provided that individualized data on patients with RA were provided; (3) patients treated with RTX; (4) objective and quantifiable results on the evolution of ILD after treatment with available data of FVC, DLCO and/or HRCT. Results: Of the 64 papers identified, 9 articles were selected. The studies showed great heterogeneity in design, both in the sample selection criteria and in the objectives of the analysis. Most were observational, retrospective (n = 6) or prospective (n = 2) studies, with only one open prospective experimental study. Those focused on RA predominated, but 3 of them also included patients with other CTDs. The mean age of the patients in the different studies ranged between 52 and 70 years, predominantly women. 40-79% had a history of smoking and were mostly positive for rheumatoid factor (83-100%) and anti-CCP (82-100%). The most frequent radiological patterns were NSIP, UIP and undefined. The outcome measures were diverse: changes in respiratory function tests (LTF) and HRCT, incidence of pulmonary dysfunction, mortality rates, effect on glucocorticoid deprivation, delay in inclusion in the lung transplant list and/or serious adverse events. The initiation of RTX was motivated by pulmonary and/or joint pathology, in patients with failure to other synthetic or biological DMARDs. A total of 393 treatment cycles were collected in 114 patients, with a mean of 3.45 cycles per patient. The RTX regimen was 2 infusions of 1g 2 weeks apart in all patients, except for 1 who received the lymphoma-like regimen. With regard to the efficacy of the treatment with RTX, improvement and especially stabilization of HRCT and LFT predominated, with numerically greater improvement for DLCO than for FVC. There was also a favorable trend in the evolution of patients treated with RTX compared to controls, although it did not reach statistical significance, and a lower risk of deterioration of lung function in patients treated with RTX versus those who had received other DMARDs. The mortality rate found at 5 years was lower than that previously described for the disease and half for the patients treated with RTX compared to those treated with anti-TNF. The adverse events described in the studies did not show additional safety alerts to those already described for RTX. Conclusion: RTX seems to be postulated as a promising therapy for patients with ILD associated with RA, showing a stabilizing effect on the lung function, with an acceptable safety profile. However, further research of higher methodological quality prospective studies is needed to confirm these favorable preliminary results. Disclosure of Interests: None declared