Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Mar 28, 2021; 27(12): 1194-1212
Published online Mar 28, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i12.1194
Cytapheresis re-induces high-rate steroid-free remission in patients with steroid-dependent and steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis
Masahiro Iizuka, Takeshi Etou, Yosuke Shimodaira, Takashi Hatakeyama, Shiho Sagara
Masahiro Iizuka, Shiho Sagara, Akita Health Care Center, Akita Red Cross Hospital, Akita 010-0001, Japan
Masahiro Iizuka, Takeshi Etou, Department of Gastroenterology, Akita Red Cross Hospital, Akita 010-1495, Japan
Yosuke Shimodaira, Department of Gastroenterology and Neurology, Akita University Graduate School of Medicine, Akita 010-8543, Japan
Takashi Hatakeyama, Department of Nephrology, Akita Red Cross Hospital, Akita 010-1495, Japan
Author contributions: Iizuka M contributed to this paper with conception and design and performance of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version; Etou T contributed this paper with performance of the study, critical revision of the final version; Shimodaira Y contributed this paper with design of the study, critical revision and final approval of the final version; Hatakeyama T contributed this paper with supporting cytapheresis and critical revision of the final version; Sagara S contributed this paper with performance of the study, critical revision of the final version.
Institutional review board statement: This retrospective study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Akita Red Cross Hospital (approval No: 195) and Akita University School of Medicine (approval No: 2419).
Informed consent statement: Written or oral informed consent was obtained from patients and/or parents of patients aged younger than 20 years.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare no conflict-of-interest associated with this manuscript.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Masahiro Iizuka, MD, PhD, Director, Doctor, Akita Health Care Center, Akita Red Cross Hospital, 3-4-23 Nakadori, Akita 010-0001, Japan. maiizuka@woody.ocn.ne.jp
Received: November 4, 2020
Peer-review started: November 4, 2020
First decision: January 23, 2021
Revised: February 11, 2021
Accepted: March 10, 2021
Article in press: March 10, 2021
Published online: March 28, 2021
Core Tip

Core Tip: Management of steroid-dependent and steroid-refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) is a critical issue, and the goal of the therapy for such refractory UC should be steroid-free remission. However, clinical studies focused on the achievement of steroid-free remission in refractory UC patients are insufficient. In this study, we demonstrated that cytapheresis (CAP) was effective in inducing and maintaining steroid-free remission even in both steroid-dependent and steroid-refractory UC patients. Furthermore, it is notable that we also showed that CAP re-induced high-rate steroid-free remission repeatedly in such refractory UC patients who achieved steroid-free remission after the first course of CAP.