title: Successful treatment of steroid-refractory autoimmune thrombocytopenia associated with Castleman disease with anti-CD-20 antibody (rituximab).
abstract: Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is a lymphoproliferative disorder of incompletely understood etiology and with various clinical presentations. The best therapeutic option for this disease is not well established. MCD is known to be associated with autoimmune phenomena. A 70-year-old female patient of MCD with progressive nodal disease associated with autoimmune thrombocytopenia failed steroid treatment and showed a transient response to intravenous immunoglobulin. The patient achieved complete recovery of her platelet count and a very good response in nodal disease after 3 weekly doses of anti-CD-20 antibody (rituximab). Anti-CD20 antibody treatment could be a good therapeutic option for MCD, mainly when associated with immune-related disorders.
authors: Section of Adult Hematology/HSCT, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. maljurf@kfshrc.edu.sa
authors: Khalid
authors: K
authors: Ibrahim
authors: Irfan
authors: I
authors: Maghfoor
authors: Assem
authors: A
authors: Elghazaly
authors: Nasir
authors: N
authors: Bakshi
authors: Said Y
authors: SY
authors: Mohamed
authors: Mahmoud
authors: M
authors: Aljurf
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal / Q000276:immunology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018951:Antigens, CD20 / Q000276:immunology; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005871:Castleman Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016553:Purpura, Thrombocytopenic, Idiopathic / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000209:etiology*; D000069283:Rituximab; D013256:Steroids / Q000627:therapeutic use; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000911:Antibodies, Monoclonal; D058846:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Murine-Derived; D018951:Antigens, CD20; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D013256:Steroids; D000069283:Rituximab