Increasing diversity in peanut oral immunotherapy research and accessibility

• Published in: The journal of allergy and clinical immunology in practice (Cambridge, MA) Vol. 9; no. 5; pp. 2132 - 2133
• Main Authors: Smith, Hunter G., Kim, Edwin H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01-05-2021; Elsevier Limited
• Subjects: Clinical trials; Food allergies; Health disparities; Hispanic Americans; Immunotherapy; Literature reviews; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Patients; Race; Socioeconomic factors
• ISSN: 2213-2198; 2213-2201
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jaip.2021.02.010

To the Editor: The Palforzia peanut oral immunotherapy (PN-OIT) product was recently approved by the US Food and Drug Administration as the first treatment for peanut allergy based primarily on its compelling clinical trial efficacy data. A quick literature review (Table I) of 5 recent PN-OIT studies and clinical trials (2017-2019) with 231 participants, 64.1% males, reveals the lack of diversity in research. Future research could increase focus on ethnic and racial groups not well-represented in studies, analyze in-home treatment efficacy, and investigate avenues to safely decrease the number of doses and visits required to reach the maintenance phase.