Efficacy and safety of rituximab as second-line therapy in immune thrombocytopenic purpura based on ethnicity : a descriptive study among the Arabic population

Abstract EN

Background: Rituximab is used as second-line therapy in patients with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) who do not respond to first-line management.

The response rate for Rituximab is variable in different populations ranging from 30% to 90%.

The adverse effects of rituximab in patients with ITP range from infusion site reactions to the reactivation of hepatitis B virus and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy and interpopulation variation.

Methods: We conducted a single-center, retrospective study in Qatar's National Center for Cancer Care & Research.

The study included patients with chronic refractory ITP who received rituximab as second-line therapy.

Descriptive and summary statistics were used to describe the sociodemographic parameters of the study cohort.

Results: Of the 41 patients with chronic ITP, 26 were Arabs, 12 were Asians, and 3 were of other ethnicities.

Rituximab was associated with an overall response rate of 80.4%.

Arabic patients had the highest clinical response (84.6%) among the ethnicities with the lowest adverse effects (11.5%).

Asians had a response rate of 66.6%, and adverse effects were seen in 16.7% of the patients.

Conclusions: In chronic refractory ITP, rituximab appears to have a better clinical response in the Arabic population with minimal toxicity than in other ethnicities.