ACR: Rituximab Equals Standard Treatment for Vasculitis

By Kelley Luckstein

Rituximab (Rituxan) and cyclophosphamide were equally effective in inducing remission in patients with severe ANCA-associated vasculitis, researchers reported here.

After six months of treatment, 63.6% of patients randomized to receive rituximab and 53.1% of those who received cyclophosphamide achieved disease remission (P=0.089), according to Ulrich Specks, MD, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.