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.
Analysis of Disease Activity Metrics in a Methotrexate Withdrawal Study among Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Treated with Tofacitinib plus Methotrexate
Rheumatol Ther. 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s40744-022-00511-3
This post hoc analysis of data from the ORAL Shift study, concludes that DAS28-4(ESR), CDAI remission and SDAI remission are the metrics most likely to reflect actual disease activity, in the context of tofacitinib in a randomised withdrawal of MTX.
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Olokizumab versus Placebo or Adalimumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis
N Engl J Med. 2022;387(8):715–726. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2201302
Phase 3 trial of olokizumab, a direct inhibitor of the IL-6 ligand, demonstrates superiority to placebo with respect to an ACR20 response at week 12 and noninferiority to adalimumab (all combined with methotrexate), in patients with RA.
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Impact of initial therapy with upadacitinib or adalimumab on achievement of 48-week treatment goals in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: post hoc analysis of SELECT-COMPARE
Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac477
Post hoc analysis findings provide the first data evaluating the importance of treatment order with JAKinib vs TNFi as initial therapy, suggesting that a JAKinib first strategy leads to more rapid improvements in treatment outcomes following csDMARD failure.
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Consensus statement on blocking interleukin-6 receptor and interleukin-6 in inflammatory conditions: an update
doi: 10.1136/ard-2022-222784.
Blocking the IL-6R is a major therapeutic advance for many diseases in adults and children. Updated consensus statement provides guidance to rheumatologists and other experts, as well as patients and administrators, on managing patients with the use of drugs blocking the IL-6 pathway.
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...Keywords:
Long-term safety and efficacy of upadacitinib or adalimumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results through 3 years from the SELECT-COMPARE study
RMD Open. 2022;8(1):e002012 doi: 10.1136/rmdopen-2021-002012
Upadacitinib continues to show consistently better clinical responses, compared with adalimumab, through 3 years, including rates of remission and low disease activity, physical function and pain severity.Following the favourable upadacitinib efficacy data seen in the SELECT-COMPARE study at 72 weeks, Fleischmann, et al. assessed the long-term safety and efficacy of upadacitinib versus adalimumab over 3 years in the long-term extension of this study, with promising results. ...Keywords:
Cardiovascular and Cancer Risk With Tofacitinib in Rheumatoid Arthritis
N Engl J Med 2022;386:316–26. doi: 10.1056/NEJMc2202778
In this paper, Ytterberg et al. compare incidence of MACE and cancers (excluding NMSC) with tofacitinib 5 mg BID, tofacitinib 10 mg BID and TNFi. They found that risk of MACE and cancer were higher with tofacitinib versus TNFi, and did not meet noninferiority criteria.This prospective head-to-head safety trial compared tofacitinib to TNFi, and was required by the FDA after increases in lipid levels and cancers were observed during tofacitinib drug development. ...Keywords:
Radiographic progression of structural joint damage over 5 years of baricitinib treatment in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Results from RA-BEYOND
J Rheumatol. 2021 Sep 15:jrheum.210346.
Oral baricitinib maintained lower levels of radiographic progression than initial csDMARD or placebo through 5 years in patients with active RA.It is well known that persistent joint inflammation in RA can lead to irreversible structural damage that impacts on patient physical function and quality-of-life. To this end, van der Heijde, et al. evaluated the effect of baricitinib on inhibiting radiographic progression of structural joint damage over 5 years in patients with active RA. Results from ...
Median Time to Pain Improvement and the Impact of Baseline Pain Severity on Pain Response in Patients with Psoriatic Arthritis Treated with Tofacitinib
RMD Open. 2021;7(2):e001609.
Tofacitinib 5 mg twice daily provides clinically meaningful improvements in pain for patients with PsA.Reducing pain is a primary treatment concern for patients with PsA. As such, de Vlam, et al. set out to evaluate the time to pain improvement and the impact of baseline pain severity on pain response in patients with PsA receiving tofacitinib.Using data from the OPAL Broaden and OPAL Beyond trials, they discovered that clinically important improvements in pain were experienced by more patients,...
Points to Consider for the Treatment of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases With Janus Kinase Inhibitors: A Consensus Statement
2021 Jan;80(1):71-87. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2020-218398. Epub 2020 Nov 6.
JAKi are approved in various immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. With five JAKi now licensed, this paper reviews key points to consider in their use to assist clinicians, patients, and other stakeholders once the decision is made to commence JAKi.The consensus was developed by a Steering Committee and an expanded Task Force using EULAR standard operating procedures. The committee included patients as well as experts in rheumatology, gastroenterology, haematology, dermatology, and infectious d...