Choosing a roster of IBD therapies
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AUSTIN, Texas — Inflammatory bowel disease can vary drastically from patient to patient. There is not a one-size-fits-all therapy that can handle all that variance. At the Crohn’s and Colitis Congress, experts provided an overview of the numerous IBD therapies to provide the attending physicians with some baseline knowledge before they started with the scientific sessions.
Bincy P. Abraham, MD, MS, AGAF, FACG, of the academic division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Houston Methodist-Weill Cornell in Houston, moderated the session and gave the presentation on Stelara (ustekinumab, Janssen). She told Healio Gastroenterology and Liver Disease they covered all the major medications, from the early therapies, the 5ASAs, to steroids, biologics and newer agents.
“It was quick and brief, but it highlighted the major aspects of these medications, including indications, dosing, mechanism of action, populations to treat with the latest evidence, including aspects of therapeutic drug monitoring, as well as clinical pearls that each of us as faculty were able to provide from our own clinical experience,” she said.
Having an overview all of these medications back-to-back gave attendees a chance to get a quick download of information, get a baseline understanding and prepare for the rest of the meeting, Abraham said.
“They know the basics of the medications and use that information at the next sessions,” she said.
However, Abraham said the session could also be important for the doctors’ clinical practices. Not every GI focuses on IBD every day and may not have experience with every therapy.
“If you don’t know the details of all the medication, if you’re not thinking about them, or if you have questions regarding them, you may not consider using them,” she said. “You may only use the one that you’re comfortable with and limit the options that you provide to your patients. When you are armed with this knowledge, you can decide the best treatment for that individual patient.”
That can be incredibly important in the world of IBD, where each patient is unique.
“Treatment for IBD now is personalizing treatment,” Abraham said. “One UC patient is not the same as another. Same with Crohn’s disease. If you have a patient with mild disease, you can treat with milder agents. However, someone with severe disease will need more aggressive treatment to provide the best outcome for that patient.” – by Alex Young
Reference:
Abraham B. Sp14. Presented at: Crohn’s and Colitis Congress; Jan. 23-25, 2020; Austin, Texas.
Disclosures: Abraham reports serving as a consultant for Janssen, Medtronic, Pfizer, Samsung Bioepis, Takeda and UCB; research funding from AbbVie, Celgene, Eli Lilly, Genentech, Gilead, Janssen, Takeda and UCB; and serving on speakers bureaus for AbbVie, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda and UCB.