Omalizumab treatment for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in young patients with cystic fibrosis

Abstract Background Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis(ABPA) is a severe lung disease complication caused by an Aspergillus fumigatus-induced hypersensitivity that affects 2–15% of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). The mainstay treatment consists of a combination of corticosteroids and antifungals. However, repeated or long-term corticosteroid therapies can lead to serious side effects. The monoclonal anti-IgE antibody, omalizumab, has demonstrated its efficacy in allergic asthma. As ABPA results from a hypersensitivity to a specific allergen, omalizumabmight benefit CF patients with ABPA. Therefore, we conducted a retrospective study to investigate the effects of omalizumabon ABPA in CF patients. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical records of young patients with CF treated with omalizumabfor an ABPA in several French CF centers. The clinical data were collected 3 months before the start of omalizumabtreatment, at initiation, and every 3 months up to 12 following initiation. These data comprised clinical, biological, nutritional, and functional parameters. Results Eighteen patients were included (mean age: 17.1 ± 5.2 yrs). Under omalizumabwas observed a stabilization of the lung function decline associated with a significant decrease in the corticosteroid daily dose (p = 0.0007) and an improvement in the nutritional status (p = 0.01). No serious side effect of omalizumabwas reported. Conclusions This study suggests that omalizumabmight be an interesting therapeutic strategy in ABPA, associated with less side effects compared to long-term corticosteroids. Further randomized-controlled trials are needed to ascertain the efficacy of omalizumabin CF patients with ABPA.