Upfront Combination Therapy With Rituximab and Mycophenolate Mofetil for Progressive Systemic Sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a complex disease involving multiple pathophysiological pathways: autoimmunity, vasculopathy, and fibrosis, all of which are interrelated. Most of the damage consists of skin and lung fibrosis, and is accumulated within the first 2 years of disease in rapidly progressive patients with a serology of anti-SCL-70 or anti-RNA polymerase III (RNAP3)1.