An Examination of Clinical and Immunologic Outcomes in Food Allergen Immunotherapy by Route of Administration

Allergen immunotherapy for the treatment of food allergy has been a subject of intensive study within the last 10 years. After an unsuccessful attempt with subcutaneous immunotherapy for peanut allergy, other routes with varying degrees of safety and efficacy have been tested for peanut, milk, and egg allergies. In this review, we summarize the results to date with oral immunotherapy, sublingual immunotherapy, and epicutaneous immunotherapy for the treatment of food allergy. While results of immunotherapy trials are promising, increases in efficacy are commonly associated with an increased side effect profile. There is a need for additional research beginning at the preclinical level to develop safe and effective treatments for food allergy.