The multicenter observational study was published in the scientific journal Lancet Respiratory Medicine as part of the SHARP (Severe Heterogenous Asthma Research Collaboration, Patient-Centered) Clinical Research Collaboration, analyzing data from more than 13,000 adults with severe asthma across 22 European countries. Its basis was the European Severe Asthma Registry, which had been established more than ten years ago and has been continuously expanded with data from patients with the disease ever since (in which information on patients in Hungary is provided by chief pulmonologist BM Zsuzsanna Csoma).
According to the study, the most recent biologic therapies significantly improve the condition of patients with severe asthma. However, there are some patients whose symptoms persist even despite the most advanced treatment and they do not achieve remission.
- During remission, flare-ups stop occurring, the symptoms that make daily life difficult disappear, and the quality of life of the patients improves significantly. Nevertheless, clinical trials demonstrate that even with state-of-the-art treatment, some symptoms, including, for example, airway inflammation, may continue to persist. Therefore, our goal is to identify which patients respond best to therapy and what sort of new treatment options could lead to a more complete recovery. An important task for the upcoming time period is to find and identify personalized therapies and new drug targets- said Ildikó Horváth, a professor at the University of Debrecen and one of the co-authors of the study, to hirek.unideb.hu.
She pointed out that it would be important to determine exactly which patients achieved complete symptom-free remission following treatment, what common characteristics they shared, and which patients did not achieve complete remission. The next step is to understand and explore the factors that explain these differences and to determine the direction in which research should continue to proceed.
- In the future, we will need to answer the question of whether, based on our current knowledge and the available measurements, we are able to predict if a given patient is likely to respond well to treatment. If that happens to be the case, it would be possible to more accurately identify those for whom the therapy is truly worthwhile because it is highly likely to provide significant benefit and those for whom its effectiveness is expected to be lower. This comprehensive study is a publication that has influenced our professional field for years as it is the result of a massive European collaboration based on extensive data collection conducted at the clinics- said Professor Ildikó Horváth.
The head of the Department of Pulmonology added the following: in addition to new medications, early identification of high-risk patients and their immediate referral to centers specializing in severe asthma are essential for improving long-term outcomes. This is necessary because, even though the most advanced and effective therapies are available in Hungary, not everyone can access appropriate treatment in time.
At present, there are two to three thousand patients treated for severe asthma in Hungary, but estimates suggest that more than ten thousand people live suffer from this condition. Ildikó Horváth also added that it might be necessary in the future to redefine the concept of remission, which would facilitate a more accurate assessment of the patients’ condition and thereby contribute to the use of even more personalized therapies.
Press Center - CzA