Use of monoclonal antibodies for allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis in patients with asthma and cystic fibrosis: literature review

Abstract

Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a hypersensitivity reaction (HR) mediated by antigens to Aspergillus fumigatus. It is estimated that 2–15% of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and between 1% and 5% of asthmatics develop ABPA, affecting approximately 4.8 million people worldwide. The goals of treatment are controlling inflammation, reducing the number of exacerbations and limiting the progression of lung damage. Systemic steroids are therefore used as the mainstay therapy, along with antifungal medications. However, many patients do not respond or develop side effects to treatment. In this scenario, biological drugs such as Omalizumab, Mepolizumab, Benralizumab and Dupilumab have been implemented in clinical practice, even though there is a lack of scientific evidence to support their use. We performed a literature review of the studies carried out which analyzed biologics for the management of ABPA in adult populations with asthma and CF. To our knowledge this is the first literature review that included all biologics. We included a total of 32 studies, all but one were descriptive studies, and the vast majority evaluated the use of Omalizumab. Biologics appeared to have more benefit for patients with ABPA and asthma than CF, specifically at decreasing the frequency of acute exacerbations and by having a steroid-sparing effect. Although a decrease in serum IgE level is considered a measure of therapy success, values may not decline as expected in the context of a significant clinical improvement, highlighting the importance of measuring patient-oriented outcomes. As evidence comes mainly from case series and case reports, randomized controlled trials are needed to evaluate further the safety and efficacy of biologics in ABPA. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section.