A drug for Cancer Can Benefit Lupus Patients

A drug used to fight cancer may also be used to treat some forms of lupus. New research shows rituximab (Rituxan) can benefit lupus patients who have complications of the nervous system.

Rheumatologists from the University of California, San Francisco, and Stanford University announced the findings at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Vienna, Austria. They say rituximab is the first drug in 25 years to make a real difference for lupus patients, and it's an alternative to treatments like high-dose steroids and chemotherapy.

Lupus is a disorder of the immune system where the body attacks itself, causing pain, inflammation, and damage to many organs. When the central nervous system is affected, the disease can lead to psychological and neurological problems.

"I spent considerable time with oncologists and saw how the drug works in patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma," says clinical professor Michael Neuwelt, from the University of California, San Francisco, and Stanford University. "Patients with blood disorders of lupus and severe complications of the central nervous system (CNS) also surprisingly improved."

The findings come just as the biggest study of its kind shows rituximab is safe and effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis. Those results were also announced at the Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Vienna, Austria.

SOURCE: The Annual European Congress of Rheumatology in Vienna, Austria, June 8-11, 2005