Factors affecting persistence with biologic treatments in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a systematic literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Biologic treatments are a milestone in the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patient with an inadequate response to conventional synthetic treatments. With the increase of the number of biologic treatments, predictor factors of discontinuation are needed to choose the right treatment for the right patient. AREAS COVERED: In this article, the factors affecting persistence with biologic treatments will be covered: factors associated with the demographic characteristics and comordidities of the patients, those with the characteristics of the disease, the biomarkers, and the adherence. EXPERT OPINION: Seeking factors affecting persistence with biologic treatments is an important field of clinical research to offer the best management to the RA patients. Personalized medicine is the ultimate goal in this field to choose the biological therapy with the highest persistence for every patient. To achieve this goal, biomarkers could be a milestone.