Efficacy and safety of sirolimus in the treatment of blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome in paediatric patients

Clin Exp Dermatol. 2020 Jan;45(1):79-85. doi: 10.1111/ced.14003. Epub 2019 Jun 12.

Abstract

Blue rubber bleb naevus syndrome (BRBNS) is an extremely rare venous malformation that often manifests as multiple haemangioma-like lesions in the skin and gastrointestinal tract. The drug sirolimus plays a key role in the signalling pathway of angiogenesis and subsequent development of BRBNS and its use has been described in several case reports. We present a case series of four patients with BRBNS who exhibited good treatment response to sirolimus. All four patients were administered oral sirolimus at doses of 1.0-1.5 mg/m2 /day with a target drug level of 5-10 ng/mL and median treatment duration of 20 months. All patients had a reduction in the size of the lesions and a normalization of coagulopathy with tolerable drug adverse reactions at follow-up. Sirolimus may be effective and safe in paediatric patients with BRBNS. Further prospective studies are suggested to evaluate the long-term effectiveness of this drug.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Administration, Oral
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Dermoscopy
  • Female
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Gastrointestinal Neoplasms / pathology
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Nevus, Blue / diagnostic imaging
  • Nevus, Blue / drug therapy*
  • Nevus, Blue / pathology
  • Sirolimus / administration & dosage
  • Sirolimus / therapeutic use*
  • Skin Neoplasms / diagnostic imaging
  • Skin Neoplasms / drug therapy*
  • Skin Neoplasms / pathology

Substances

  • Sirolimus

Supplementary concepts

  • Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome