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 bullous pemphigoid (BP) patients. Low-dose 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: 43 patients with moderate to severe BP were included. The therapy included systemic corticosteroids with initial dose of 0.5mg/kg/d for moderate and 1.0mg/kg/d for severe disease respectively, combined with allowed immunosuppressants for control group, while in addition to the same corticosteroids therapy, IL-2 (half million IU) was administered subcutaneously every other day for 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 treatment group was (7.60±3.00), which was shorter than in the control group (10.43±3.06) (p=0.008). 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.