Safety, Efficacy, and Cost-Effectiveness of Rituximab for Multicentric Castleman Disease in Malawi
The following grant was awarded by, is supported by, is administered by or is in partnership with the Fogarty International Center at the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Funding Fogarty Program
International Research Scientist Development Award (IRSDA)
Project Information in NIH RePORTER
Safety, Efficacy, and Cost-Effectiveness of Rituximab for Multicentric Castleman Disease in Malawi
Principal Institution
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Principal Investigator(s) (PI)
Painschab, Matthew Scott
Project Contact Information
Email:
mpain@email.unc.edu
Year(s) Awarded
2019-2024
Country
Malawi
Collaborators
UNC Project Malawi
Kamuzu Central Hospital
Project Description
Multicentric Castleman disease (MCD) is a life-threatening lymphoproliferative disorder (in which cells of the lymphatic system grow excessively) strongly associated with Kaposi sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which are both highly prevalent in sub-Saharan Africa. Treatment with chemotherapy can control the disease but rapid relapses occur and mortality is high when chemotherapy is stopped. Rituximab, however, has been effective in small studies in high-income countries to control MCD and decrease mortality. Rituximab has not been formally evaluated in sub-Saharan Africa however. We will therefore conduct a phase II safety/efficacy trial of rituximab-based therapy for MCD in Malawi, a low-income country in sub-Saharan Africa, where MCD constitutes an important HIV co-morbidity.
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