CIRTED Trial: Combining Immunosuppression and Radiotherapy for Thyroid Eye Disease
Author Information
Author(s): Rajendram Rathie, Lee Richard WJ, Mike Potts, Geoff E Rose, Rajni Jain, Jane M Olver, Fion Bremner, Steven Hurel, Anne Cook, Rao Gattamaneni, Marjorie Tomlinson, Catey Bunce, Sandra P Hollinghurst, Laura Kingston, Sue Jackson, Andrew D Dick, Nichola Rumsey, Olivia C Morris, Colin M Dayan, Jimmy M Uddin
Primary Institution: Moorfields Eye Hospital
Hypothesis
Is radiotherapy and azathioprine effective when used in combination with steroids for the treatment of active thyroid eye disease?
Conclusion
The CIRTED trial aims to provide evidence on the effectiveness of combining radiotherapy and azathioprine with steroids in treating thyroid eye disease.
Supporting Evidence
- Glucocorticoids are effective initially but have significant side effects with long-term use.
- Current evidence on the efficacy of radiotherapy and non-steroid systemic immunosuppression is conflicting.
- Azathioprine is better tolerated than ciclosporin and has safety advantages.
Takeaway
This study is trying to find out if using two treatments together can help people with a serious eye condition caused by thyroid problems.
Methodology
Patients with active thyroid eye disease will be randomised to receive azathioprine or placebo and radiotherapy or sham-radiotherapy in a factorial randomised control trial.
Potential Biases
There is a risk of unmasking due to common side effects of azathioprine and prednisolone.
Limitations
The study may have low power for comparisons between individual treatment groups due to the small sample size.
Participant Demographics
Patients aged 20 to 75 with active thyroid eye disease.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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