Publications

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

Winthrop K,

Vargas JI,

Drescher E,

Garcia C,

Friedman A,

Hendrickson B,

Li Y,

Klaff J,

Kivitz A

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...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Upadacitinib,
• Vaccination

Effectiveness of baricitinib and tofacitinib compared with bDMARDs in RA: results from a cohort study using nationwide Swedish register data

Rheumatology (Oxford). 2022. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keac068

Barbulescu A,

Askling J,

Chatzidionysiou K,

Forsblad-d'Elia H,

Kastbom A,

Lindström U,

Turesson C,

Frisell T

Data from the Swedish Rheumatology Quality Register and Swedish Registries, show a higher treatment retention and overall equivalent or better treatment response on baricitinib, compared with bDMARDs or tofacitinib, but no statistically significant differences between tofacitinib and bDMARDs.In this largest population-based study to date, comparing RA patients initiating baricitinib, tofacitinib or bDMARDs, Barbulescu, et al. help to fill some of the current knowledge gaps surrounding the effica...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Baricitinib,
• Real-World,
• Efficacy

Highlights of 2021

Please click the links below to go to the CSF review of each paper

McInnes IB

I’m sure we’d all hoped that this year would be a return to normal but, in the midst of the challenges we’ve faced with COVID-19, the rheumatology community has continued to deliver excellent publications, and we’ve covered many of these on the CSF. Here are my highlights from 2021's publications: Points to Consider for the Treatment of Immune-Mediated Inflammatory Diseases With Janus Kinase Inhibitors: A Co...

Keywords:

• Review

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.

van der Heijde D,

Kartman CE,

Xie L,

Beattie S,

Schlichting D,

Mo D,

Durez P,

Tanaka Y,

Fleischmann R.

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 ...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Baricitinib,
• LTE,
• Efficacy,
• Radiographic

Efficacy and safety of tofacitinib versus baricitinib in patients with rheumatoid arthritis in real clinical practice: analyses with propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting

Ann Rheum Dis. 2021;80(9):1130-1136

Miyazaki Y,

Nakano K,

Nakayamada S,

Kubo S,

Inoue Y,

Fujino Y,

Tanaka Y.

Propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting shows that efficacy may differ between tofacitinib and baricitinib. Miyazaki, et al. compared the efficacy and safety of the two JAK inhibitors in real-world clinical practice, after reduction to a minimum of the selection bias, using propensity score-based inverse probability of treatment weighting, and adjustment for confounding patient characteristics. They found that tofacitinib may be less effective in patients resistant to m...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Baricitinib,
• Efficacy,
• Safety,
• Real-World

Risk of herpes zoster (shingles) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis under biologic, targeted synthetic and conventional synthetic DMARD treatment: data from the German RABBIT register

Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 Jul 28:annrheumdis-2021-220651

Redeker I,

Albrecht K,

Kekow J,

Burmester GR,

Braun J,

Schäfer M,

Zink A,

Strangfeld A

A 3.6-fold increased risk of herpes zoster (HZ) is associated with tsDMARDs, and an increased risk is associated with bDMARDs, compared with csDMARDs. It is now well known that patients with RA have an increased risk of developing herpes zoster (HZ), and that incidence rates appear to be increased with TNF and JAK inhibitors. To this end, Redeker, et al. used data from the German RABBIT Registry to compare event and incidence rates of HZ in patients with RA treated with the three different DMAR...

Keywords:

• Safety,
• Infections,
• Review

Real‑world evaluation of effectiveness, persistence, and usage patterns of monotherapy and combination therapy tofacitinib in treatment of rheumatoid arthritis in Australia

Clin Rheumatol. 2021. Epub ahead of print doi: 10.1007/s10067-021-05853-x

Bird P,

Littlejohn G,

Butcher B,

Smith T,

O'Sullivan C,

Witcombe D,

Griffiths H.

Real-world evidence suggests that monotherapy and combination therapy tofacitinib is an effective intervention in RA with persistence and effectiveness comparable to bDMARDs. Despite recommendations from EULAR that bDMARDs and tsDMARDs be used in combination with csDMARDs for the treatment of RA, it is estimated that up to a third of patients take their medication as monotherapy.This post hoc analysis of data from the Australian OPAL study by Bird, et al. aimed to describe the real-world effecti...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Tofacitinib,
• Efficacy,
• Real-World

Contribution of a European-Prevalent Variant Near CD83 and an East Asian-Prevalent Variant Near IL17RB to Herpes Zoster Risk in Tofacitinib Treatment: Results of Genome-Wide Association Study Meta-Analyses

Arthritis Rheumatol. 2021;73(7):1155–66

Bing N,

Zhou H,

Chen X,

Hirose T,

Kochi Y,

Tsuchida Y,

Ishigaki K,

Sumitomo S,

Fujio K,

Zhang B,

Valdez H,

Vincent MS,

Martin D,

Clark JD.

Genetic analysis of tofacitinib-treated subjects with RA or PsO identified multiple loci associated with increased herpes zoster (HZ) risk.It is well known that HZ risk is elevated in subjects with RA compared with the general population, and that treatment with JAK inhibitors may result in increased risks compared with TNFi and other bDMARD treatments. To this end, Bing, et al. used genome-wide association studies to identify genetic factors associated with an increased risk/faster onset of HZ ...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• Tofacitinib,
• Safety,
• Infections

Associations of baseline use of biologic or targeted synthetic DMARDs with COVID-19 severity in rheumatoid arthritis: Results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry

Ann Rheum Dis. 2021 May 28. DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2021-220418

Sparks JA,

Wallace ZS,

Seet AM,

Gianfrancesco MA,

Izadi Z,

Hyrich KL,

et al.

Results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician registry show that people with RA using rituximab or JAKi, at COVID-19 onset, are more likely to experience poor COVID-19 outcomes, ranging from hospitalisation to death, compared with use of TNFi.The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on people with RA, many of whom are treated with b/tsDMARDs. To help address some of the knowledge gaps around the influence of b/tsDMARDs on COVID-19 outcomes, Sparks, et al. ana...

Tofacitinib versus tocilizumab in the treatment of biological-naïve or previous biological-failure patients with methotrexate-refractory active rheumatoid arthritis

RMD Open. 2021;7(2):e001601.

Mori S,

Urata Y,

Yoshitama T,

Ueki Y.

Findings from a multicentre cohort study in Japan provide important information that is expected to aid in determining the position of tofacitinib in the treatment algorithm for RA.Mori S, et al. compared therapeutic outcomes, from real-world registries, at 12 months between tofacitinib-treated and tocilizumab-treated patients to clarify whether tofacitinib should only be considered as an option for patients who have either failed to respond to at least one bDMARD or are MTX-resistant/-intoleran...

Keywords:

• JAK,
• IL-6,
• Tofacitinib,
• Tocilizumab,
• Efficacy,
• Safety