Pentoxifylline (anti-tumor necrosis factor drug): effective adjuvant therapy in the control of ocular cicatricial pemphigoid.

Purpose: The detection of tumor necrosis factor-a (TNF-a) in conjunctiva affected by ocular cicatricial pemphigoid (OCP) may indicate that this cytokine plays an important role in its pathogenesis. The purpose of this randomized, controlled, comparative, blinded study was to evaluate the effectiveness of adding pentoxifylline as an anti-TNF-a drug to the well-documented therapy of steroids and cyclophosphamide in controlling OCP.

Methods: Thirty patients with different grades of OCP were included.