A comparison of immunotherapy delivery methods for allergen immunotherapy

Allergic diseases are among the most common diseases in humans. Besides allergen avoidance, allergen-specific immunotherapy is the only causative treatment option. During recent years, many innovations of this therapy have emerged.

Selective literature research in Medline and PubMed, under the inclusion of national and international guidelines and Cochrane meta analyses.

In several meta-analyses, the clinical efficacy of subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCIT) has been largely demonstrated. Recently, major research activities in mucosal immunotherapies focused on the sublingual application route. There are well-documented clinical data on the efficacy and safety of this form of immunotherapy. New application routes as well as new immune-modifying agents such as virus-like particles or CpG-motifs have also been investigated.

SIT is accepted to be the only causative treatment option for allergies. New application routes and new immune-modifying agents will allow for different delivery methods in the future.