Key clinical point: The appearance of total antinuclear antibodies (ANA) before administration of TNF-α inhibitors (TNFi) is a risk factor for the appearance of antidrug antibodies (ADrA) and treatment failure.
Major finding: ADrA appeared in 36.8% and 30.2% of patients treated with infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA), respectively; all being positive for total ANA before TNFi administration. High titers of total ANA before IFX treatment were significantly associated with inefficacy and discontinuation of treatment.
Study details: The data come from observational study of 121 patients with RA newly introduced to 3 classes of TNFi.
Disclosures: The study did not receive any funding. S Kumagai reported ties with various pharmaceutical companies. The other authors reported no conflicts of interest.
Source: Mori A et al. PLoS One. 2020 Dec 14. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0243729 .