Lust · Pediatric blood & cancer 2021 · case series · n=2

Idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease with TAFRO clinical subtype responsive to IL-6/JAK inhibition: A pediatric case series.

Cited 30 times in the scientific literature.

Level 4 - case-series / case-control

Pediatric case series without controls

PubMed 34302703 · doi:10.1002/pbc.29261 · record verified 2026-08-26

What was done

Descriptive case series detailing the clinical presentation, management, and treatment responses of two pediatric patients with the TAFRO clinical subtype of idiopathic multicentric Castleman disease (iMCD-TAFRO).

What was found

One patient responded to IL-6 blockade. The second patient failed siltuximab and chemotherapy but responded to JAK inhibition with ruxolitinib. The abstract reports no numerical outcome values or laboratory figures.

Why it matters

It provides the first reported evidence of successful JAK inhibition (ruxolitinib) in a pediatric patient with treatment-refractory iMCD-TAFRO.

Limits

Extremely small sample size (n = 2), retrospective and uncontrolled design, lack of quantitative data in the abstract, and potential for publication bias inherent to case reports.

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