Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps: how to identify eligible patients for biologics in clinical practice

Dupilumab's impact on nasal citology: Real life experience after 1 year of treatment

BACKGROUND

Biologic agents are considered a new revolutionized therapy for severe and recurrent forms of CRSwNP which disease burden is not sufficiently controlled by conservative and/or surgical treatments. Recent Research has focused on evaluating their real-life efficacy in CRSwNP, as only limited reports on real-life data are available. However, in most studies, the response to treatment is evaluated in terms of improvement in Nasal Polyp Score (NPS) or in Sino-Nasal Outcome test (SNOT-22) scores. However, both criteria do not consider nasal immunophlogosis, which can be easily assessed by nasal cytology. The aim of our study was to evaluate changings in the nasal inflammatory infiltrate of CRSwNP patients treated with Dupilumab for 12 months.

METHODS

27 patients suffering from severe CRSwNP treated with Dupilumab were recruited. Nasal cytology findings, NPS, SNOT-22, ACT scores and blood eosinophil count at T0 (before treatment) and at T1 (after 1 year of treatment) were compared.

RESULTS

After 1 year of biological therapy with Dupilumab, NPS, SNOT-22 and, among the 17 asthmatic patients, ACT scores improved significantly. At T1, a statistically significant percentage of patients showed negative citology. Moreover, a significant reduction in the mast cell-eosinophilic pattern and an increase of neutrophils and bacteria was reported.

CONCLUSIONS

The response to treatment can be considered both in the case of negative nasal cytology and in the case of the appearance of neutrophils and bacteria. In this context, eosinophils, the specific target of biological therapies, play a crucial role in regulating tissue homeostasis and, consequently, the nasal immunophlogosis.

Headache and Facial Pain/Pressure in the Chronic Rhinosinusitis Population: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the severity and prevalence of headache and facial pain/pressurere in the chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) population.

DATA SOURCES

CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus.

REVIEW METHODS

The literature was searched from inception through June 2023 for English language articles documenting "headache" or "facial pain/pressure" and "chronic rhinosinusitis." Data collected included Lund-MacKay computed tomography score, Lund-Kennedy endoscopy score, sinonasal outcome test, and visual analog scale. Meta-analyses were performed on continuous measures (mean), proportions (%), and regression.

RESULTS

A total of 69 studies were included with 8643 CRS patients and 703 control patients. The CRS group had a mean age of 44.1 (range: 16-82; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 40.3-48) and 86.1% [95% CI: 76.4-93.5] with nasal polyposis. The control group had a mean age of 39.2 (range: 17-88; 95% CI: 28.7-49.8). All CRS subgroups had significantly more severe headache and facial pain/pressure when compared to the control (P < .0001). Patients without polyps had significantly more severe facial pain/pressure and headache when compared to patients with polyps (P < .0001). Facial pain/pressure is a moderate problem or worse in 29.8% of polypoid patients versus 56.4% of nonpolypoid patients; Δ26.6% [95% CI: 0.7-50; P = .045].

CONCLUSIONS

Across all outcome metrics, CRS patients experience significantly more severe headache and facial pain/pressure when compared to a control population. Nonpolypoid patients experience significantly more severe facial pain/pressure and headache when compared to polypoid patients. The majority of nonpolypoid patients experience facial pain/pressure that is moderate in severity or worse.

Multiple cytokine analyses identify CSF1 as a robust biomarker for predicting postoperative recurrence in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps

OBJECTIVE

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is a heterogeneous disease with a high rate of postoperative recurrence. This study aimed to discover potential biomarkers by analyzing multiple cytokine profiles in serum to predict postoperative recurrence in CRSwNP and to explore the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

In this prospective study, we enrolled 18 healthy controls (HC) and 60 CRSwNP patients and analyzed the baseline serum cytokine profiles using the Luminex assay. Patients were followed up for more than 2 years and divided into non-recurrence and Recurrence groups. The differentially expressed cytokines were validated in the serum and tissue samples in a validation cohort, and their predictive values for recurrence were evaluated.

RESULTS

Fifty-four CRSwNP patients completed the follow-up schedule, including 37 patients in the non-Recurrence group and 17 patients in the Recurrence group. Multiple cytokine analyses showed that serum CD40, CD40L, IL-18, IL-8, MCP1, and CSF1 levels were elevated in the CRSwNP group, especially in the Recurrence group, compared to the HC group. Receiver operating characteristic curves (ROC) and Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that serum levels of CD40, CD40L, and CSF1 were closely associated with the risk of postoperative recurrence. Further validation results showed that both serum and tissue mRNA levels of CD40, CD40L, and CSF1 were significantly higher in the Recurrence group in comparison with the non-recurrence and HC groups, and tissue CSF1 mRNA expression exhibited a robust value for predicting the CRSwNP recurrence. Immunofluorescence results revealed that CSF1 was enhanced in the recurrent CRSwNP patients, especially in the epithelial cell area, and CSF1 expressions were augmented when patients suffered postoperative recurrence.

CONCLUSIONS

Circulating cytokine profiles may affect the risk of postoperative recurrence in CRSwNP patients. Our discovery-validation results suggested that CSF1 might serve as a robust biomarker for predicting CRSwNP recurrence.

Biologics for Chronic Rhinosinusitis-A Modern Option for Therapy

Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is an important ENT pathology which affects about 5-12% of the general population. The treatment of CRS can be pharmacological (nasal sprays, douches, systemic antibiotics and steroids), surgical (endoscopic sinus surgery) or immunological according to established algorithms. CRS was divided for many years into CRS with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) and CRS without nasal polyps (CRSsNP). New ways of classifying CRS by endotypes (presence of neutrophilia, eosinophilia, fibrosis, glandular hypertrophy and epithelial dysmorphisms) appeared after the most recent understandings of the pathophysiology of the disease. Other classifications divide CRS into primary and secondary forms, localized/diffuse types and anatomical presentation. A new type of treatment has been administered in the last years, biologics. For the moment, biologics are indicated just in the cases of the patients who have undergone ESS or have contraindications for surgery and have bilateral polyps and meet a minimum of three of the following criteria: the necessity for systemic therapies with oral or parenteral corticosteroids or contraindications to systemic steroids, significant loss of smell or impaired QoL score, comorbid asthma and type 2 inflammation. This article aims to present the most relevant studies which used the three types of biologics (anti-IgE, anti-IL5 and anti-IL4/IL3) and wishes to increase the awareness of this new type of treatment that can be used in some CRS cases.

Eosinophil-mast cell pattern of intraepithelial infiltration as a marker of severity in CRSwNP

Chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) is defined as a Type 2 eosinophilic disease, while CRSsNP is considered a Type 1 neutrophilic disease. Since neutrophils are also activated in eosinophilic CRSwNP, the eosinophil-neutrophil dualism has been revaluated. Among the inflammatory cells infiltrating sinus-nasal tissues, the role of mast cells (MCs) is not already recognized, although Clinical-Cytological Grading, which defines the severity of CRSwNP, attributes to mixed eosinophil-MC forms of CRSwNP a greater risk of recurrence. We aimed to examine nasal polyps from both a cytological and histopathological point of view, to evaluate the presence and localization of MCs. Cytological and histological examination of 39 samples of nasal polyps were performed. Immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the presence of Tryptase + CD117 + MCs, which were counted both in the epithelial layer and in the lamina propria. A statistically significant correlation was found between intraepithelial MCs and CRSwNP severity (p < 0.001) and between the total eosinophil count and the total mast cell count (p < 0.001). Cytological examination and immunohistochemistry were comparable in detecting the presence of intraepithelial MCs (p = 0.002). The histological cut-off of 6 intraepithelial MCs was identified to detect severe CRSwNP (p < 0.001). MCs have been shown to be located in the lamina propria of almost all eosinophilic nasal polyps without significantly affecting their severity. Intraepithelial MCs are associated with greater severity of CRSwNP. Histopathological criteria of the eosinophil-MC form of CRSwNP in addition to the eosinophilic one, should be defined to guarantee patients effective and tailored treatments.

Spotlight on a Short-Time Treatment with the IL-4/IL-13 Receptor Blocker in Patients with CRSwNP: microRNAs Modulations and Preliminary Clinical Evidence

Already used for the treatment of some allergic and inflammatory diseases, such as asthma or atopic dermatitis, dupilumab has also been approved as add-on therapy for patients with CRSwNP, and it could represent the keystone to reducing the remission time as well as to improve healing and quality of life. On the other hand, the role of miRNAs as potential biomarkers of immune modulation is emerging. We analyzed the effects of a short-time treatment with dupilumab in patients with CRSwNP, analyzing the immune response modification as well as miRNAs modulations. First, in this early observation stage, all patients experienced remarkable improvement and were clinically stable. Indeed, we observed a significant decrease in CD4+ T cells and a significant reduction in total IgE (p < 0.05) and serum IL-8 levels (p < 0.01), indicating a reduction in the general inflammatory condition. In addition, we analyzed a panel of about 200 circulating miRNAs. After treatment, we noted a significant downregulation of hsa-mir-25-3p (p-value = 0.02415) and hsa-mir-185-5p (p-value = 0.04547), two miRNAs involved in the proliferation, inflammation, and dug-resistance, in accordance with the clinical status of patients. All these preliminary data aimed to identify new biomarkers of prognosis, identifiable with non-invasive procedures for patients. Further, these patients are still under observation, and others with different levels of responsiveness to treatment need to be enrolled to increase the statistical data.

Sinonasal Symptoms in COPD: Burden and Associations with Clinical Markers of Disease

Purpose

Sinonasal symptoms are prevalent in COPD, and knowledge of the relationship between these symptoms and clinical markers of COPD is limited. This study explores the associations between the burden of sinonasal symptoms and clinical markers and thresholds recommended for guiding treatment decisions in the GOLD guidelines.

Patients and Methods

Sinonasal symptoms were quantified with the rhinological subscale of the Sino-Nasal-Outcome-Test (SNOT-22) in 93 COPD patients characterized by the European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps (EPOS) 2012 diagnostic criteria for rhinosinusitis without nasal polyps (RSsNP). Associations between a high burden, defined as a SNOT22_rhinological score of ≥11, and the following markers were assessed by adjusted multivariable linear regressions; severity of dyspnea [modified Medical Research Council (mMRC)] and cough [Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)], physical activity [6-minute walking distance (6MWD)], mortality risk (BODE index), and HRQoL [disease-specific COPD Assessment Test (CAT) and St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and physical component summary, Short Form-36 version 2.0 (PCS SF-36v2)]. Odds ratios for the association of a high burden and threshold levels for regular treatment were estimated by adjusted binomial logistic regression models.

Results

A high burden was associated with greater severity of dyspnea and cough, lower 6MWD, higher BODE index and poorer HRQoL. The odds ratio of having CAT and SGRQ scores that are above the thresholds recommended for treatment was 5–7-fold greater in the high burden group.

Conclusion

A high burden of sinonasal symptoms is positively associated with the clinical markers of symptom severity and mortality risk and is inversely associated with physical activity and HRQoL in COPD. These findings add further support that the UAD concept also applies to COPD. Enquiry about sinonasal symptoms in COPD patients should be incorporated into the clinical routine.