Esophagus to Small Intestine
N Engl J Med. 2024;390(24):2252–63
Eosinophil depletion with benralizumab for eosinophilic esophagitis
Background: Benralizumab is an eosinophil-depleting anti-interleukin-5 receptor α monoclonal antibody. The efficacy and safety of benralizumab in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis are unclear.
Methods: In a phase 3, multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, the authors assigned patients 12–65 years of age with symptomatic and histologically active eosinophilic esophagitis in a 1:1 ratio to receive subcutaneous benralizumab (30 mg) or placebo every 4 weeks. The 2 primary efficacy end points were histologic response (≤ 6 eosinophils per high-power field) and the change from baseline in the score on the Dysphagia Symptom Questionnaire (DSQ; range, 0–84, with higher scores indicating more frequent or severe dysphagia) at week 24.
Results: A total of 211 patients underwent randomization: 104 were assigned to receive benralizumab, and 107 were assigned to receive placebo. At week 24, more patients had a histologic response with benralizumab than with placebo (87.4% vs. 6.5%; difference, 80.8 percentage points; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 72.9–88.8; p < 0.001). However, the change from baseline in the DSQ score did not differ significantly between the 2 groups (difference in least-squares means, 3.0 points; 95% CI: -1.4–7.4; p = 0.18). There was no substantial between-group difference in the change from baseline in the Eosinophilic Esophagitis Endoscopic Reference Score, which reflects endoscopic abnormalities. Adverse events were reported in 64.1% of the patients in the benralizumab group and in 61.7% of those in the placebo group. No patients discontinued the trial because of adverse events.
Conclusions: In this trial involving patients 12–65 years of age with eosinophilic esophagitis, a histologic response (≤ 6 eosinophils per high-power field) occurred in significantly more patients in the benralizumab group than in the placebo group. However, treatment with benralizumab did not result in fewer or less severe dysphagia symptoms than placebo.