Based on endoscopic findings, the condition can be divided into chronic sinusitis with or without nasal polyps. Nasal polyps originate in the sinuses and obstruct the sinus and nasal passages. An international team of researchers decided to test dupilumab, a human antibody that already demonstrated clinical efficacy for asthma and atopic dermatitis.

Claus Bachert of Ghent University Hospital and colleagues randomly assigned 60 adults with chronic sinusitis and nasal polyposis to dupilumab or a placebo, plus mometasone furoate nasal spray in both groups, for 16 weeks. The study was conducted at 13 locations in the United States and Europe. The primary measured outcome was the change in polyp size.

Among the 60 patients who were randomized, 51 completed the study. The researchers found that dupilumab treatment was associated with significant improvements in nasal polyp size and burden after 16 weeks. The patients reported significant improvements in quality of life and in major symptoms, such as subjective sense of smell, nasal obstruction or congestion, and nocturnal awakenings. Dupilumab was generally well tolerated, and no serious side effects were related to dupilumab.

“Further studies are needed to assess longer treatment duration, larger samples, and direct comparison with other medications,” the authors write in The Journal of the American Medical Association.