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Tocilizumab/DMARDs delivered early symptom relief for patients with RA
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Patients with rheumatoid arthritis reported significant improvement in disease activity and pain 7 days after first treatment with tocilizumab plus disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, according to study results.
Researchers conducted a 1-week sub-study of a 24-week, clinical trial of tocilizumab or placebo in combination with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDS) in patients with moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis (RA) whose response to nonbiologic DMARDs was inadequate. The sub-study included a cohort of 40 patients (mean age, 51.7 years; 75% women) who were assigned tocilizumab 8 mg/kg plus DMARDs every 4 weeks and 22 patients (mean age, 55.7 years; 68% women) assigned placebo plus DMARDs every 4 weeks. All patients had C-reactive protein (CRP) levels of at least 1 mg/dL, and both groups had similar baseline data.
At day 7, patient global assessment of disease activity showed a mean change of –16.2 mm for the tocilizumab group compared with 0.8 mm for the placebo group (P=.005). Patient global assessment of pain was –12.2 mm for the tocilizumab group, while a 1.4 mm change from baseline was noted for placebo patients (P=.010). Tocilizumab patients also scored higher in physician global assessment of disease activity compared with the placebo group (–15.4 mm vs. –5.6 mm, respectively), but statistical significance was not met (P=.05).
Tender/swollen joint counts, physical function and routine assessment of patient index data 3 scores did not show significant differences between groups in changes from baseline. At day 7, disease activity score 28 significantly improved for the tocilizumab group (–1.16) compared with the placebo group (–0.27; P=.007).
“Though early-response efficacy measures may be indicators of long-term benefit with biologics, they are not necessarily predictors of long-term outcomes; other criteria such as previous treatments and comorbidities also should be considered,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: See the study for a full list of relevant disclosures.
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