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Use of rituximab to treat refractory Diamond‐Blackfan anemia
Author(s) -
Morimoto Akira,
Kuriyama Kikuko,
Tsuji Keiji,
Isoda Kenichi,
Hibi Shigeyoshi,
Todo Shinjiro,
Sugimoto Tohru,
Imashuku Shinsaku
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
european journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.904
H-Index - 84
eISSN - 1600-0609
pISSN - 0902-4441
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0609.2004.00394.x
Subject(s) - rituximab , diamond–blackfan anemia , medicine , refractory (planetary science) , anemia , pediatrics , surgery , gastroenterology , lymphoma , ribosome , rna , biochemistry , chemistry , physics , astrobiology , gene
We report here the first case with Diamond‐Blackfan anemia (DBA) who responded to rituximab. The patient is an 8‐yr‐old Japanese girl with refractory DBA accompanied by complex congenital heart disease. She received two doses of rituximab, 375 mg/m 2 /wk. She became transfusion independent 6 months after the treatment without any serious side effect. However, after 8 months of transfusion‐free period, her condition returned to the pretreatment level with recovery of peripheral B cells. Rituximab may be a successful therapy for refractory DBA where B cells play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of the severe anemia.