Efficacy and safety of low-dose interleukin 2 in the treatment of moderate-to-severe bullous pemphigoid: A single center perspective-controlled trial.

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are reduced in the peripheral blood and skin lesions of patients with bullous pemphigoid (BP). Low-dose interleukin 2 (IL-2) therapy can stimulate Tregs specifically, suggesting potential for the treatment of BP. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the response to low-dose IL-2 therapy in the treatment of moderate-to-severe BP. METHODS: Forty-three patients with moderate-to-severe BP were included. The therapy included systemic corticosteroids with an initial dose of 0.5 mg/kg/d for moderate and 1.0 mg/kg/d for severe disease, respectively, combined with allowed immunosuppressants for the control group, whereas in addition to the same corticosteroid therapy, IL-2 (half million IU) was administered subcutaneously every other day for the treatment group for 8 weeks. The primary outcome was the number of days required to achieve disease control. Secondary outcomes included other clinical responses. RESULTS: The number of days required to achieve disease control with the treatment group was (7.60 ± 3.00), which was shorter than in the control group (10.43 ± 3.06) (P = .008). The total amount of systemic corticosteroids was less, and no serious infections were detected in the treatment group. LIMITATIONS: Single center, open-label study with short duration and small size. CONCLUSION: Our trial supports the potential of low-dose IL-2 therapy for patients with moderate-to-severe BP, which showed earlier treatment responses.