Key clinical point: Abatacept shows promising signs of being both safe and effective as a treatment for early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

Major finding: After 18 months of treatment, patients who took abatacept the entire time had significant mean improvement in modified Rodnan Skin Score score (–9.8), as did patients who took abatacept for 6 months after 12 months of placebo (–6.3).

Study details: An open-label extension of the phase 2, double-blind, randomized ASSET trial involving 88 patients with early diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis.

Disclosures: The trial was funded by Bristol-Myers Squibb, which markets abatacept, and the National Institutes of Health. The authors reported numerous potential conflicts of interest, including receiving grants, clinical trial support, and personal fees from various organizations and pharmaceutical companies, as well as serving on the advisory boards for such companies.