INTRODUCTION: Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in association with methotrexate (MTX). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of RTX-MTX combination therapy compared with RTX alone in the treatment of RA. METHODS: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study, the Italian biologic register GISEA, to investigate the efficacy and safety of rituximab. Moreover, the adverse events (AE) and the causes of discontinuation therapy were analyzed. RESULTS: We identified 338 RA patients, 162 treated with RTX and 176 with RTX-MTX. After 52 and 104 weeks of therapy the disease activity score in 28 joints and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Score were available in 168 patients (78 with RTX-MTX and 60 with RTX alone), showing significant reduction without differences among the two groups. AE were reported in 142 patients (42%), for a total of 368 recorded side effects. The majority (90.5%) of AE were mild to moderate in severity. Comparable percentages of severe AE were reported in the 2 groups (9.9% for RTX alone and 9.3% for RTX+MTX). A poor disease control was observed in 14.2% and 13.5% of patients treated with RTX+MTX and RTX, respectively; while 12 patients (4.5% in RTX+MTX, and 2.5% in RTX group) suspended therapy for AE. CONCLUSIONS: RTX showed a good efficacy and safety profile in the real-life management of RA patients regardless of the association with MTX.
INTRODUCTION:Rituximab (RTX) is a monoclonal anti-CD20 antibody approved for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in association with methotrexate (MTX). OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of RTX-MTX combination therapy compared with RTX alone in the treatment of RA. METHODS: We analyzed data from a prospective cohort study, the Italian biologic register GISEA, to investigate the efficacy and safety of rituximab. Moreover, the adverse events (AE) and the causes of discontinuation therapy were analyzed. RESULTS: We identified 338 RApatients, 162 treated with RTX and 176 with RTX-MTX. After 52 and 104 weeks of therapy the disease activity score in 28 joints and the Health Assessment Questionnaire Score were available in 168 patients (78 with RTX-MTX and 60 with RTX alone), showing significant reduction without differences among the two groups. AE were reported in 142 patients (42%), for a total of 368 recorded side effects. The majority (90.5%) of AE were mild to moderate in severity. Comparable percentages of severe AE were reported in the 2 groups (9.9% for RTX alone and 9.3% for RTX+MTX). A poor disease control was observed in 14.2% and 13.5% of patients treated with RTX+MTX and RTX, respectively; while 12 patients (4.5% in RTX+MTX, and 2.5% in RTX group) suspended therapy for AE. CONCLUSIONS:RTX showed a good efficacy and safety profile in the real-life management of RApatients regardless of the association with MTX.
Authors: N Svetlicky; S Kivity; Q Odeh; O Shovman; S Gertel; H Amital; O Gendelman; A Volkov; I Barshack; E Bar-Meir; M Blank; Y Shoenfeld Journal: Clin Exp Immunol Date: 2015-09-24 Impact factor: 4.330
Authors: F Iannone; G Ferraccioli; L Sinigaglia; E G Favalli; P Sarzi-Puttini; F Atzeni; R Gorla; C Bazzani; M Govoni; I Farina; E Gremese; A Carletto; A Giollo; M Galeazzi; R Foti; L Bianchino; L La Grasta; G Lapadula Journal: Clin Rheumatol Date: 2017-10-05 Impact factor: 2.980
Authors: Louise K Mercer; Anne C Regierer; Xavier Mariette; William G Dixon; Eva Baecklund; Karin Hellgren; Lene Dreyer; Merete Lund Hetland; René Cordtz; Kimme Hyrich; Anja Strangfeld; Angela Zink; Helena Canhao; M Victoria Hernandez; Florence Tubach; Jacques-Eric Gottenberg; Jacques Morel; Jakub Zavada; Florenzo Iannone; Johan Askling; Joachim Listing Journal: Ann Rheum Dis Date: 2017-08-19 Impact factor: 19.103