Rituximab has emerged as an alternative to cyclophosphamide for remission induction in anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitides, with recommendations now developed to direct its use in these diseases. However, data from extended clinical trials are required to determine whether rituximab is safer or more efficacious than cyclophosphamide in the long term.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Prof. Stefan Gadola, Professor of Immunology/Consultant Rheumatologist, Department of Infection, Inflammation and Immunity, Faculty of Medicine and Health and Life Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Southampton, for his valuable contribution to this manuscript.
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J. U. Holle has received speaker's fees from Roche. W. L. Gross has received speaker's fees from and is a stockholder in Roche.
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Recommendations for the use of rituximab in AAV by Guerry et al.5 (DOC 63 kb)
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Holle, J., Gross, W. Rituximab in AAV: when and how to use it. Nat Rev Rheumatol 7, 566–567 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2011.131
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2011.131
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