Impact of omalizumab on quality-of-life outcomes in patients with moderate-to-severe allergic asthma

Background: Moderate-to-severe allergic asthma has a substantial impact on patients' quality of life (QOL). Despite care consistent with treatment guidelines, many patients with moderate-to-severe asthma still experience variability in asthma control, signaling an unmet need within this population. Omalizumab has recently demonstrated clinical efficacy and safety in treating IgE-mediated asthma. Objective: To summarize asthma-related QOL outcomes associated with omalizumab therapy in moderate-to-severe allergic asthma. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis of asthma-related QOL on data from published clinical trials and unpublished clinical study reports were conducted on omalizumab. The Juniper Asthma Quality of Life Questionnaire (AQLQ) measured asthma-related QOL. Results: Statistically significant results for asthma-related QOL end points consistently favored omalizumab over placebo. Moderate to large effect sizes in the omalizumab groups were observed across the clinical trials and during study extension phases. A meta-analysis indicated a 1.6- to 2-fold increase in moderate (>= 1 point) and a 1.8- to 2.1-fold increase in large (>= 1.5 point) improvements in AQLQ overall scores in the omalizumab-treated group compared with placebo during the steroid-stabilization and steroid-reduction phases of the trials. Conclusions: Significant differences and large effect sizes favoring omalizumab were observed despite the control group receiving active, guideline-consistent treatment. The meta-analysis findings demonstrate that omalizumab treatment provides QOL benefits in patients with moderate-to-severe allergic asthma.