Successful treatment of granulomatosis with polyangiitis using tocilizumab combined with glucocorticoids: A case report.

Background: Tocilizumab is a humanized monoclonal antibody against the interleukin-6 (IL-6) receptor that is commonly used to treat large vessel vasculitis and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-related small vessel vasculitis. However, tocilizumab in combination with glucocorticoids for successfully treating granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) has rarely been reported.
Case Summary: Here, we report a 40-year-old male patient who suffered GPA for 4 years. He was treated with multiple rounds of drugs, including cyclophosphamide, Tripterygium wilfordii, mycophenolate mofetil, and belimumab, with no improvement. In addition, he exhibited persistently high IL-6 levels. After tocilizumab treatment, his symptoms improved, and his inflammatory marker levels returned to normal.
Conclusion: Tocilizumab may be effective for treating GPA.
Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
(©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)