Treatment of Cancer-Associated Retinopathy With Rituximab

Cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR) is a rare autoimmune condition associated with various cancers, causing significant visual impairment. Visual symptoms in CAR may or may not correlate with the extent of systemic disease or its response to chemotherapy, and must be addressed separately from the management of systemic malignancy. Steroids have been the mainstay of CAR therapy. Various immunomodulatory therapies have also been described with varying responses, but the overall visual prognosis remains poor. Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody used in the treatment of non-Hodgkin's B-cell lymphoma and many autoimmune disorders. This case report describes a patient with small cell uterine cancer who initially presented with visual impairment associated with CAR. The patient’s deteriorating visual symptoms were successfully halted for an extended, clinically meaningful period with rituximab.

Target Audience

This activity has been designated to meet the educational needs of physicians and nurses involved in the management of patients with cancer.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to:

  • Describe the etiology, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and management of cancer-associated retinopathy (CAR)
  • Discuss the rationale for use of rituximab in the treatment of CAR
Additional information
Supporters: 

No commercial support was received for this article.

Course summary
Available credit: 
  • 1.00 Participation
  • 1.00 Nurse
  • 1.00 Physician
Course opens: 
11/14/2013
Course expires: 
11/14/2014
Cost:
$0.00

Irene Dy, MD
Continuum Cancer Centers of New York
Department of Medicine, St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center
New York, New York

Rangaswamy Chintapatla, MD
Continuum Cancer Centers of New York
Department of Medicine, St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center
New York, New York

Isabel Preeshagul, MD
Department on Medicine, Beth Israel Medical Center
New York, New York

Daniel Becker, MD
Continuum Cancer Centers of New York
Department of Medicine, St. Luke’s–Roosevelt Hospital Center
New York, New York

Available Credit

  • 1.00 Participation
  • 1.00 Nurse
  • 1.00 Physician

Price

Cost:
$0.00
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