ArticleArthritis and rheumatism2009
A retrospective seven-year analysis of the use of B cell depletion therapy in systemic lupus erythematosus at University College London Hospital: the first fifty patients.
Article in Arthritis and rheumatism, 2009. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 80 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
80 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The 2026 British Society for Rheumatology guideline for the management of children, young people and adults with systemic lupus erythematosus.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Guideline
- Rituximab Therapy for Adult Refractory Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with Neurological and/or Psychiatric Presentations: A PRISMACompliant Meta-Analysis.Current rheumatology reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Saudi National Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Adult Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Current rheumatology reviews · 2025Guideline
- Off-label use of rituximab in systemic lupus erythematosus: a systematic review.Clinical rheumatology · 2010Pooled it
- Efficacy and safety of rituximab in Japanese patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis who are refractory to conventional therapy.Modern rheumatology · 2016Trial
- TLR7 in systemic lupus erythematosus: genetics and emerging therapies.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2026Review
- Effect of rituximab on long-term damage acquisition in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Disease-modifying therapies in systemic lupus erythematosus for extrarenal manifestations.Lupus science & medicine · 2024Review
- Focal segmental glomerular sclerosis can be effectively treated using an intensive B-cell depletion therapy.Clinical kidney journal · 2023Article
- Review of an Anti-CD20 Monoclonal Antibody for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases of the Skin.American journal of clinical dermatology · 2023Review
- Off-label use of rituximab in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus with extrarenal disease activity: a retrospective study and literature review.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Article
- Low-dose rituximab therapy in steroid-refractory thrombocytopenia due to systemic lupus erythematosus.Rheumatology international · 2020Review
- [New treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2020Review
- [Biologicals and small molecules for systemic lupus erythematosus].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2020Review
- Belimumab and Rituximab in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: A Tale of Two B Cell-Targeting Agents.Frontiers in medicine · 2020Review
- Acquired Immunodeficiency from Maternal Chemotherapy and Severe PrimaryCase reports in pediatrics · 2020Article
- An Update on Antibodies to Necleosome Components as Biomarkers of Sistemic Lupus Erythematosus and of Lupus Flares.International journal of molecular sciences · 2019Review
- The long and the short of it: insights into the cellular source of autoantibodies as revealed by B cell depletion therapy.Current opinion in immunology · 2018Review
- Assessment of Response to B-Cell Depletion Using Rituximab in Cutaneous Lupus Erythematosus.JAMA dermatology · 2018Observational
20 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo describe the 6-month clinical outcome and the long-term safety profile of B cell depletion therapy (BCDT) in 50 patients with active systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), who were nonresponsive or poorly responsive to conventional immunosuppression.
methodsAll except 4 of 50 patients with active SLE received 1 gm of rituximab, 750 mg of cyclophosphamide, and 100-250 mg of methylprednisolone, administered on 2 occasions 2 weeks apart, to achieve B cell depletion. Clinical outcome was assessed using the British Isles Lupus Assessment Group (BILAG) activity index and serial serologic measurements of disease activity. Remission was defined as a change from a BILAG A or B score to a C or D score in every organ system. Partial remission was a change from a BILAG A or B score to a C or D score in at least 1 system, but with the persistence of 1 score of A or B in another system. No improvement was defined as a BILAG A or B score that remained unchanged after treatment.
resultsOf the 45 patients available for followup at 6 months, 19 patients (42%) achieved remission, and 21 patients (47%) reached partial remission after 1 cycle of BCDT (mean followup 39.6 months). BCDT resulted in a decrease in median global BILAG scores from 12 to 5 (P < 0.0001) and median anti-double-stranded DNA antibody titers from 106 to 42 IU/ml (P < 0.0001), and an increase in the median C3 level from 0.81 to 0.95 mg/liter (P < 0.02) at 6 months. Five serious adverse events were observed.
conclusionBCDT is an effective treatment for patients with active SLE whose disease has failed to respond to standard immunosuppressive therapy. Although the safety profile of BCDT is favorable, ongoing monitoring is required.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.