ArticleHaematologica2021
Efficacy, safety and immunological profile of combining rituximab with belimumab for adults with persistent or chronic immune thrombocytopenia: results from a prospective phase 2b trial.
Article in Haematologica, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 28 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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.
RITUX-PLUS. A Prospective Open Trial to Assess the Efficacy and Safety of a Treatment Combining Rituximab and Belimumab in Adults With Persistent Immune Thrombocytopenia.
Marker Expression in Pediatric Patients With Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura Receiving Second Line Therapy
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 56 citations in OpenAlex.
- Targeting B-Cell-Activating Factor and Its Receptor in Immune Thrombocytopenia and Warm Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia.American journal of hematology · 2026Review
- Single-Cell Transcriptomic Profiling Identifies B Cell-Intrinsic Dysregulation of Sphingolipid Biosynthesis and Could Be Improved by Inhibiting UGCG in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Synergistic Interaction Between MALAT1/miR-30b-5p/BAFF Axis and Inflammatory Cytokines Underlies Rituximab-Refractory NMOSD.CNS neuroscience & therapeutics · 2026Article
- Efficacy and safety of immunosuppressive therapy in connective tissue disease-related immune thrombocytopenia: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Therapeutic advances in hematology · 2026Article
- Emerging targeted therapies for primary immune thrombocytopenia: novel agents, combination strategies, and future directions.Frontiers in pharmacology · 2026Review
- Limitations of rituximab in treating primary immune thrombocytopenia and the therapeutic potentials of alternatives.Current opinion in hematology · 2026Review
- Efficacy and safety of belimumab versus rituximab for refractory immune thrombocytopenia in patients with connective tissue disease.Lupus science & medicine · 2025Article
- On the horizon: upcoming new agents for the management of ITP.Hematology. American Society of Hematology. Education Program · 2024Review
- 2025 update on clinical trials in immune thrombocytopenia.American journal of hematology · 2024Review
- Review
- Rituximab alleviates pediatric systemic lupus erythematosus associated refractory immune thrombocytopenia: a case-based review.Immunologic research · 2024Review
- Distinct fibroblast functions associated with fibrotic and immune-mediated inflammatory diseases and their implications for therapeutic development.F1000Research · 2024Review
- Recommendations for the Clinical Approach to Immune Thrombocytopenia: Spanish ITP Working Group (GEPTI).Journal of clinical medicine · 2023Review
- Common-sense combination therapy in refractory immune thrombocytopaenia.British journal of haematology · 2023Article
- The Outcomes and Adverse Drug Patterns of Immunomodulators and Thrombopoietin Receptor Agonists in Primary Immune Thrombocytopenia Egyptian Patients with Hemorrhage Comorbidity.Pharmaceuticals (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Article
- Update on the Application of Monoclonal Antibody Therapy in Primary Membranous Nephropathy.Drugs · 2023Review
- Older Adults and Immune Thrombocytopenia: Considerations for the Clinician.Clinical interventions in aging · 2023Review
- Rituximab resistance in ITP and beyond.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Predictors of refractory risk in systemic lupus erythematosus-related thrombocytopenia: a dual-centre retrospective study.Lupus science & medicine · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
18 authors at 6 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
B-cell activating factor may be involved in the failure of B-cell depleting therapy with rituximab in immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) by promoting the emergence of splenic long-lived plasma cells. From results obtained in mouse models, we hypothesized that combining rituximab with sequential injections of belimumab could increase the rate of response at one year in patients with persistent or chronic ITP by preventing the emergence of these long-lived plasma cells. The study was a single-center, single arm, prospective phase 2b trial (RITUX-PLUS, NCT03154385) investigating the safety and efficacy of rituximab given at a fixed dose of 1,000 mg, two weeks apart, combined with five infusions of belimumab, 10 mg/kg at week 0 (W0)+2 days, W2+2 days, W4, W8 and W12 for adults with primary persistent or chronic ITP. The primary endpoint was the total number of patients achieving an overall response (complete response + response) at W52 according to a standard definition. In total, 15 non-splenectomized adults, nine (60%) with persistent IPT and six (40%) with chronic ITP, were included. No severe adverse event, infection, or severe hypogammaglobulinemia was observed. Thirteen patients achieved an initial overall response. At W52, 12 (80%) patients achieved an overall response, including ten (66.7%) with complete response. When compared with a cohort of patients receiving rituximab alone, the kinetics of B-cell repopulation appeared similar, but the number of circulating T follicular helper cells was significantly decreased with belimumab combination therapy. Combining rituximab and belimumab seems a promising strategy in ITP, with high efficacy and acceptable safety.
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What OpenQuestion holds
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.