Treatment of cicatricial pemphigoid with mycophenolate mofetil as a steroid-sparing agent.

BACKGROUND: Cicatricial pemphigoid (CP) is a rare autoimmune bullous disease that affects the skin and mucous membranes. It commonly ends by serious complications such as blindness, stenosis, and stricture formation and is difficult to treat. Mycophenolate mofetil has been reported to be effective in the treatment of pemphigus vulgaris, pemphigus foliaceus, and bullous pemphigoid either as monotherapy or as a steroid-sparing agent.

OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to evaluate the effectiveness of mycophenolate mofetil as a steroid-sparing agent in treating patients with CP.

METHODS: Three patients with CP were treated with mycophenolate mofetil and prednisolone.

RESULTS: All 3 patients responded very well to the therapy. None of them showed relapse of the disease for a follow-up period of 6 to 14 months after complete cessation of mycophenolate mofetil and prednisolone. No side effects were seen.

CONCLUSION: Mycophenolate mofetil appears to be a safe and effective steroid-sparing agent in the treatment of CP.