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. 2014 Dec;14(6):535-41.
doi: 10.1097/ACI.0000000000000106.

Cockroach allergy and allergen-specific immunotherapy in asthma: potential and pitfalls

Gillian Bassirpour  1 , Edward Zoratti
Affiliations

Cockroach allergy and allergen-specific immunotherapy in asthma: potential and pitfalls

Gillian Bassirpour et al. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2014 Dec.

Abstract

Purpose of review: To provide a summary and discussion of cockroach allergy and clinical trials of cockroach allergen immunotherapy.

Recent findings: Cockroach allergen exposure among sensitized children is increasingly recognized as a key factor contributing to asthma morbidity. Recent trials suggest that cockroach immunotherapy holds promise as a treatment strategy with studies demonstrating immunomodulatory and clinical effects. However, a few obstacles need to be overcome to realize the full potential of this treatment modality as cockroach-allergic patients often exhibit complex sensitization patterns to multiple cockroach-associated proteins, and an immunodominant allergen has not been identified. These factors have made it difficult to produce standardized cockroach allergen extracts that are potent and provide the broad allergen profiles needed for optimal treatment. There have been important advances in the identification and cloning of cockroach allergens, and several strategies are being developed to provide therapeutic cockroach allergen products with enhanced clinical efficacy.

Summary: Allergen immunotherapy has the capability of modulating the immune response to cockroach allergen and has potential as a valuable treatment modality. Further studies of the clinical efficacy, along with the development of improved therapeutic products, are needed to advance our knowledge and realize the full potential of this promising therapy.

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Conflict of interest statement

G. Bassirpour and E. Zoratti report no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Comparison of immune responses to two German cockroach sublingual Immunotherapy (BioCSI and BioCSI2 studies) to subcutaneous immunotherapy (SCITCO study) Reproduced with permission from [15]
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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