Increased risk of infections with alemtuzumab?
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Increased risk of infections with alemtuzumab? Alemtuzumab use in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders may be associated with an increased risk of opportunistic and nonopportunistic infections, according to results of a retrospective analysis. To assess the infectious complications associated with alemtuzumab use in patients with lymphoproliferative disorders, the researchers identified patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL; n = 21) or plasma cell disorders (6) who had initiated alemtuzumab treatment (median cumulative dose 413mg) between 1 July 2001 and 31 Dec 2003. All patients received prophylaxis for pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and herpesvirus infection. Nine of these patients, who underwent allogenic stem cell transplantation for CLL, were further compared with 27 allogenic stem cell transplant recipients who had not received alemtuzumab. Over a median follow-up time of 369 days, ten deaths occurred in patients receiving alemtuzumab, of which seven were attributed to opportunistic (n = 4) and nonopportunistic infections. Overall, 56% of patients developed opportunistic infections including 43% of patients with CLL; herpesvirus infections were the most common opportunistic infection. Nonopportunistic infections developed in 82% of the patients, with upper respiratory tract infections being the most common. Among allogenic stem cell transplant recipients, those who received alemtuzumab had higher incidences of cytomegalovirus viraemia (66.7% vs 37%) and posttransplant opportunistic infections excluding herpesvirus infections (44.4% vs 29.6%) than those who did not receive alemtuzumab. The researchers found that there was a higher proportion of opportunistic and nonopportunistic infections in the study population than in published reports from earlier trials. Martin SI, et al. Infectious complications associated with alemtuzumab use for lymphoproliferative disorders. Clinical Infectious Diseases 43: 16-24, No. 1, 1 Jul 801017733 2006
0114-9954/10/1109-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved
Reactions 8 Jul 2006 No. 1109
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