Abstract
To evaluate the effectiveness of rituximab (RTX) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc). PubMed was searched for articles, published through March 31, 2022, on any controlled studies using RTX in the treatment of SSc. Of 85 identified articles, nine were selected by title/abstract screening and full text examination. All nine articles reported outcomes of forced vital capacity (%FVC), and seven reported those of modified Rodnan skin scores (mRSS). Among the seven controlled studies evaluating skin lesions in patients with SSc, four showed a significant improvement of mRSS by RTX when compared with a control group, whereas three show no significant effect. Among the nine controlled studies evaluating lung lesions, five showed a significant improvement of %FVC compared with a control group, whereas four showed no significant effect. RTX may be effective in the treatment of skin and lung lesions in patients with SSc. The profiles of SSc patients for whom RTX is indicated were unclear, although patients with diffuse cutaneous SSc and those positive for anti-topoisomerase I antibody were considered potential targets. Additional studies are needed to assess the long-term effectiveness of RTX in the treatment of patients with SSc.
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