Long-term safety and vision outcomes after immune-suppressing treatment for eye inflammation
Official title: Long-term Follow-up of the Systemic Immunosuppressive Therapy for Eye Diseases Cohort
Funded at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary · NIH-11204063 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at long-term health, cancer risk, and vision outcomes in people who received systemic immune-suppressing drugs for non-infectious eye inflammation.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2004 |
| Project end | August 31, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $2,236,075 |
| NIH project number | 2R01EY014943-12 |
| Project ID | NIH-11204063 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
People with a history of non-infectious ocular inflammatory disease who received systemic immunosuppressive therapy (including TNF inhibitors or antimetabolites) are the ideal candidates for this follow-up.
✕Less likely to help
Patients with infectious eye diseases, those who never received systemic immunosuppression, or people seeking an immediate new treatment option are unlikely to benefit directly from this follow-up project.
What this research studies
You would be part of a large group of patients who were treated for non-infectious ocular inflammation and whose health records have been followed over many years. Researchers will extend follow-up of this cohort to capture deaths, cancer diagnoses, vision measurements, and eye complications for a median of more than 15 years after treatment. They will compare outcomes after different drug types, especially tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) versus antimetabolite drugs like methotrexate, to see which treatments control inflammation and preserve vision with fewer long-term harms. The team will link treatment records to mortality and cancer data and analyze complications and visual acuity over time.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the work could reassure patients about long-term safety or identify safer drug choices and help doctors pick treatments that better protect vision.
How similar studies have gone: Earlier analyses of this cohort have not shown a clear increase in cancer deaths, and prior work by the team suggested TNF inhibitors control inflammation better than antimetabolites, but long-term mortality risk remains an open question.
Where this research is happening
-
Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kempen, John H — Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary
- Study coordinator: Kempen, John H
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.