This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
VIDEO: Treatment in IBD remains impersonal
CHICAGO — In this exclusive video from the Interdisciplinary Autoimmune Summit, Stephen B. Hanauer, MD, medical director of the Digestive Health Center at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, discusses some of the barriers that have prevented a true treat-to-target approach in inflammatory bowel disease.
“We have determined that there are several goals,” Hanauer told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease. “Obviously, the symptomatic goals of patients, but we’ve realized that symptoms do not correlate to biologic attributes of the disease, such as C-reactive protein, fecal calprotectin, or ultimately, endoscopy.”
Another goal for IBD treatment is mucosal healing. Although it is achievable in ulcerative colitis, Hanauer said it is much more difficult in patients with Crohn’s disease. Unable to reverse the actual damage, physicians instead work toward the goal of improving the inflammation.
“The concepts of diagnosis, biomarkers in order to categorize individuals, the endpoints for treat-to-target and ultimately how to monitor patients really make the treatment of IBD impersonalized at the present time,” Hanauer said. “We have the tools to personalize it, but we really need to utilize these in forthcoming clinical trials.”
Disclosures: Hanauer reports financial ties to AbbVie, Actavis, Allergan, Amgen, Arena, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Celgene, Celltrion, Ferring, Genentech, Gilead, GSK, Hospira, Janssen, Eli Lilly, Merck, Nestle, Novartis, Pfizer, Prometheus, Receptos, Salix, Samsung Bioepis, Sanofi-Aventis, Seres Health, Shire, Takeda, Therakos, TiGenix, UCB and VHsquared.