A meta-analysis of anti-interleukin-13 monoclonal antibodies for uncontrolled asthma

More and more clinical trials have tried to assess the clinical benefit of anti-interleukin (IL)-13 monoclonal antibodies for uncontrolled asthma. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of anti-IL-13 monoclonal antibodies for uncontrolled asthma. Major databases were searched for randomized controlled trials comparing the anti-IL-13 treatment and a placebo in uncontrolled asthma. Outcomes, including asthma exacerbation rate, forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) scores, rescue medication use, and adverse events were extracted from included studies for systematic review and meta-analysis. Five studies involving 3476 patients and two anti-IL-13 antibodies (lebrikizumab and tralokinumab) were included in this meta-analysis. Compared to the placebo, anti-IL-13 treatments were associated with significant improvement in asthma exacerbation, FEV1 and AQLQ scores, and reduction in rescue medication use. Adverse events and serious adverse events were similar between two groups. Subgroup analysis showed patients with high periostin level had a lower risk of asthma exacerbation after receiving anti-IL-13 treatment. Our study suggests that anti-IL-13 monoclonal antibodies could improve the management of uncontrolled asthma. Periostin may be a good biomarker to detect the specific subgroup who could get better response to anti-IL-13 treatments. In view of blocking IL-13 alone is possibly not enough to achieve asthma control because of the overlapping pathophysiological roles of IL-13/IL-4 in inflammatory pathways, combined blocking of IL-13 and IL-4 with monoclonal antibodies may be more encouraging.