Comparison of tocilizumab as monotherapy or with add-on disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and inadequate responses to previous treatments: an open-label study close to clinical practice. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • This was an exploratory analysis comparing the safety and efficacy of tocilizumab monotherapy with those of tocilizumab in combination with disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Data were from a single-arm, nonrandomized, open-label, 24-week study in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in which patients with inadequate responses to DMARDs or tumor necrosis factor-α inhibitors received tocilizumab 8 mg/kg intravenously every 4 weeks plus methotrexate/other DMARD(s) combination therapy. If they were intolerant of methotrexate/other DMARD, patients received tocilizumab monotherapy. Effectiveness endpoints included American College of Rheumatology (ACR) responses (ACR20/50/70/90) and disease activity score using 28 joints (DAS28). Of 1,681 patients, 239 received tocilizumab monotherapy, and 1,442 received combination therapy. Methotrexate was the most common DMARD (79%) used in combination therapy. The frequency of adverse events (AEs), serious AEs, and AEs leading to withdrawal were similar between tocilizumab monotherapy (82.4, 7.9, and 5.4%, respectively) and combination therapy (76.6, 7.8, and 5.1%, respectively). No differences in ACR20/50/70/90 responses were observed between treatment groups (66.9%/43.5%/23.8%/10.0% vs 66.9%/47.2%/26.8%/8.5%, respectively; p > 0.12 for all individual comparisons, including ACR50 propensity score analyses). The decrease in DAS28 was also similar between treatment groups (mean ± standard deviation: -3.41 ± 1.49 for tocilizumab monotherapy vs -3.43 ± 1.43 for combination therapy; p > 0.33 all analyses, including propensity score analyses). Tocilizumab had a comparable safety profile, and was similarly effective, when used as monotherapy or in combination with DMARDs in a broad population of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

authors

  • Bykerk, Vivian Patricia
  • Östör, Andrew J K
  • Alvaro-Gracia, José
  • Pavelka, Karel
  • Román Ivorra, José Andrés
  • Graninger, Winfried
  • Bensen, William
  • Nurmohamed, Michael T
  • Krause, Andreas
  • Bernasconi, Corrado
  • Aassi, Maher
  • Sibilia, Jean

publication date

  • January 22, 2015

Research

keywords

  • Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized
  • Antirheumatic Agents
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC4348534

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 84925538740

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1007/s10067-014-2857-y

PubMed ID

  • 25604316

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 34

issue

  • 3