Low-dose IL-2 therapy safe, effective in moderate-to-severe bullous pemphigoid

Low-dose interleukin 2 (IL-2) therapy may be used to treat moderate-to-severe bullous pemphigoid (BP), as shown by earlier treatment responses of patients in a recent study.

Forty-three patients with moderate-to-severe BP participated in this study. They received systemic corticosteroids with an initial dose of 0.5 mg/kg/d for those with moderate disease and 1.0 mg/kg/d for those with severe disease. 

In the control group, treatment was combined with allowed immunosuppressants, while in the treatment group, corticosteroid was given along with IL-2 (half million IU) administered subcutaneously every other day for 8 weeks.

The number of days required to achieve disease control was the primary outcome, while other clinical responses were secondary.

The treatment group achieved disease control in a fewer number of days compared with the control group (7.60 vs 10.43 days; p=0.008). In addition, the treatment group used a lesser amount of systemic corticosteroids and had no serious infections.

This study, however, was limited by its single-centre, open-label design, the short duration, and small sample size.

“Regulatory T cells (Tregs) are reduced in the peripheral blood and skin lesions of patients with BP,” the authors said. “Low-dose IL-2 therapy can stimulate Tregs specifically, suggesting potential for the treatment of BP.”