Long-term (5–6 years) belimumab treatment is safe and might retard the accrual of organ damage in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), according to a newly published report. The analysis, which pooled data from 998 patients who completed BLISS-52 and BLISS-76 and were enrolled in open-label continuation studies, reveals no new safety concerns and finds consistently low rates of damage accrual — SLICC (SLE International Collaborating Clinics)/ACR Damage Index (SDI) accrual +0.2 — in all patients receiving belimumab plus standard care, including those with organ damage at baseline (this high-risk group comprised 411 patients, 235 with SDI = 1 and 176 with SDI ≥2). All patients initially received the same belimumab dose as in the parent studies (either 1 mg/kg or 10 mg/kg every 4 weeks), but those receiving the low dose were switched to 10 mg/kg following a protocol amendment.
References
Bruce, I. N. et al. Long-term organ damage accrual and safety in patients with SLE treated with belimumab plus standard of care. Lupus http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0961203315625119 (2016)
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Barranco, C. Belimumab might retard SLE damage accrual. Nat Rev Rheumatol 12, 194 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2016.39
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrrheum.2016.39