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ABSTRACT
Introduction: IgG4-Related Disease is a newly recognized condition which is increasingly diagnosed by practitioners due to improvement in clinical awareness. Men and women have been found to be affected by this disease in various organs, more commonly with involvement of the salivary and lacrimal glands as well as pancreas and liver.
Areas covered: The diagnosis and management of this condition remain challenging as biomarkers and therapies are being investigated. Hallmark features on histology are still the gold standard for confirmation of diagnosis, whereas serum IgG4 level has been shown to be neither necessary nor sufficient for the diagnosis. Glucocorticoids remain the most effective initial management for this condition while there are limited clinical trials on the effectiveness of maintenance therapy.
Expert commentary: This review serves as an update on approaches for diagnosis and management of IgG4-RD. Most of the known data in this field comes from retrospective cohort studies and expert consensus guidelines but new ongoing prospective studies, clinical trials and better understanding of the pathogenesis of this condition are promising.
Declaration of interest
The authors have no relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript. This includes employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, or royalties.