Key clinical point: Anti-interleukin-6 (aIL-6) receptor antibody was more effective than other biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with knee joint involvement but not in patients without knee joint involvement.
Major finding: At 12 weeks, treatment with aIL-6 significantly increased clinical disease activity index (CDAI) in patients with knee joint involvement compared with other bDMARDs ( P = .02). In patients without swollen knee joints, aIL-6 vs. other bDMARDs showed no significant difference in CDAI improvement ( P = .61).
Study details: Findings are from a retrospective analysis of 1,059 treatment courses in patients with RA from the ANSWER cohort who were treated with bDMARDs. The patients were categorized into those with (n=275; 323 bDMARDs treatment course) or without (n=561; 736 bDMARDs treatment course) joint knee involvement.
Disclosures: ANSWER Cohort was supported by grants from Abbie G.K., Asahi-Kasei Pharma, AYUMI Pharmaceutical Co., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Eisai Co. Ltd., Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K., Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Sanofi, UCB Japan Co. Ltd., and Teijin Healthcare Limited. The authors including the lead author reported receiving grants, consulting fees, speaker fees, and/or honoraria from various sources.
Source: Maeda Y et al. Rheumatol Int. 2021 Apr 26. doi: 10.1007/s00296-021-04862-y .