Publications
View and download slide summaries of the latest original articles focusing on cytokine signalling therapies within rheumatoid arthritis. All materials produced by the CSF team are subsequently reviewed and approved by individual steering committee members.
Persistence and Effectiveness of the IL-12/23 Pathway Inhibitor Ustekinumab or Tumour Necrosis Factor Inhibitor Treatment in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis:1-year Results From the Real-world PsABio Study
Ann Rheum Dis 2022 doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221640
Many RCTs have demonstrated efficacy and safety of biologics in PsA. However, long term comparative real world data is lacking. This study aimed to evaluate the real-world effectiveness and persistence of the IL-12/23 inhibitor ustekinumab or a TNFi for PsA 1 year post initiation. As a result, they found that PS-adjusted comparisons demonstrated comparable overall persistence, effectiveness and safety for both modes of action in PsA.
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Comparison of drug retention of TNF inhibitors, other biologics and JAK inhibitors in RA patients who discontinued JAK inhibitor therapy
Rheumatology (Oxford) 2022 doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac285
Real-world population-based study shows that a switch to a second JAKinib results in a higher drug retention, as compared to switching to a TNFi, in patients with RA who discontinue original JAKinib therapy.
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Achieving pain control in early rheumatoid arthritis with baricitinib monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate versus methotrexate monotherapy
RMD Open. 2022;8(1):e001994 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-001994
Post hoc analysis of the RA-BEGIN trial finds that, over a one-year period, patients treated with baricitinib (monotherapy or in combination with methotrexate [MTX]) report greater pain relief and a more rapid attainment of clinically meaningful thresholds of pain improvement, than patients who receive MTX monotherapy.Often overlooked, when treating RA solely to a disease activity target, patient-reported pain is common in RA, even in those reaching inflammatory remission. The fact that pain per...Evaluation of response to 13-valent conjugated pneumococcal vaccination in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving upadacitinib: results from a phase 2 open-label extension study
RMD Open. 2022;8(1):e002110 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002110
Vaccine sub-study of the BALANCE-EXTEND upadacitinib trial finds that approximately two-thirds of patients receiving upadacitinib 15 mg once-daily achieve a satisfactory humoral response to pneumococcal 13-valent conjugate (PCV-13) vaccine, despite receiving concomitant methotrexate (MTX).It is well known that a weakened immune response, comorbidities and immunosuppressant drug therapy all contribute to an increased susceptibility to infections in patients with RA. Likewise, the morbidity and mo...Baricitinib further enhances disease-modifying effects by uncoupling the link between disease activity and joint structural progression in patients with rheumatoid arthritis
Ann Rheum Dis. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-221323
Baricitinib reduces structural damage progression versus placebo with background MTX and/or MTX, even in patients with moderate or high disease activity.In patients with RA, TNFi, IL-6i and rituximab have been shown to uncouple the link between disease activity and radiographic progression such that patients are protected from structural damage progression even if remission/low disease activity is not achieved.As such, Lopez-Romero, et al. aimed to evaluate if baricitinib further enhances diseas...Cytokine Signalling Forum: Single slide summaries – January 2022
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Upadacitinib as monotherapy or in combination with background MTX was effective in inhibiting the progression of structural joint damage through Week 48 in MTX-naïve and MTX‐inadequate responder patients with RA.Recently approved in many countries for the treatment of RA, upadacitinib has been shown to significantly reduce the progression of structural joint damage in two Phase 3 studies (SELECT-EARLY and SELECT-COMPARE). In this analysis, Peterfy, et al. evaluated the progression of structural ...Incidence and risk factors for herpes zoster in patients with rheumatoid arthritis receiving upadacitinib: a pooled analysis of six phase III clinical trials
Ann Rheum Dis. 2021. Epub ahead of print. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-220822.
JAKinibs have been linked with an increased risk of HZ in patients with RA. To this end, Winthrop, et al. evaluated data from six Phase III clinical trials to determine the incidence of HZ in the upadacitinib (UPA)-treated patients with RA and identify potential risk factors for the development of HZ in these patients.Analysis of data provides further support for the need for continued vigilance and monitoring for signs of herpes zoster (HZ) in patients receiving UPA, particularly in Asian popul...Efficacy and safety of filgotinib in methotrexate-naive patients with rheumatoid arthritis with poor prognostic factors: post hoc analysis of FINCH 3
RMD Open. 2021;7(2):e001621.
Post hoc analysis of the phase III FINCH study shows that filgotinib may be an alternative treatment option for patients with RA who have poor prognostic factors (PPFs), especially those not responding to standard treatment such as methotrexate (MTX).PPFs are associated with severe disease and risk for disease progression in patients with RA. Consequently, the 2019 EULAR management guidelines for RA recommend early treatment escalation for patients with PPFs who have inadequate response to first...Upadacitinib Monotherapy Improves Patient-Reported Outcomes in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results From SELECT-EARLY and SELECT-MONOTHERAPY
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2021;60(7):3209–21
Upadacitinib treatment results in statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvements in health-related quality of life.Strand, et al. evaluated the effect of upadacitinib monotherapy versus methotrexate (MTX) on patient-reported outcomes (PRO) in MTX-naïve and MTX-inadequate responder patients with moderately-to-severely active RA. Their research from the SELECT-EARLY and SELECT-MONOTHERAPY randomised controlled trials found that upadacitinib monotherapy resulted in clinically mean...Effect of janus kinase inhibitors and methotrexate combination on malignancy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Auto Immun Highlights. 2021;12(1):8.
The combination of JAK inhibitors with MTX is not associated with an increased risk of malignancy when compared to MTX alone. Although long-term studies are needed to confirm this conclusion from short-term studies. Although it is now known that patients with RA are predisposed to an increased risk of malignancy, especially malignant lymphomas, lung cancers and non-melanoma skin cancer, it remains unclear whether the combination therapy is associated with a higher risk.To this end, Solipuram, et...