Maintenance of remission following 2 years of standard treatment then dose reduction with abatacept in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis and poor prognosis. Issue 3 (30th December 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Westhovens, Rene; Robles, Manuel; Ximenes, Antonio Carlos; Wollenhaupt, Jurgen; Durez, Patrick; Gomez-Reino, Juan; Grassi, Walter; Haraoui, Boulos; Shergy, William; Park, Sung-Hwan; Genant, Harry; Peterfy, Charles; Becker, Jean-Claude; Murthy, Bindu
• Is Part Of: Annals of the rheumatic diseases. Volume 74:Issue 3(2015)
• Page Start: 564
• Page End: 568
• Publication Date: 2014-12-30
• Subjects: Disease Activity -- DMARDs (biologic) -- Early Rheumatoid Arthritis -- Rheumatoid Arthritis -- Treatment; Rheumatism -- Periodicals; 616.723005
• DOI: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-206149
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0003-4967

Abstract

Abstract : Objectives: To evaluate maintenance of response while reducing intravenous abatacept dose from ∼10 mg/kg to ∼5 mg/kg in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who achieved disease activity score (DAS)28 (erythrocyte sedimentation rate, ESR) <2.6. Methods: This 1-year, multinational, randomised, double-blind substudy evaluated the efficacy and safety of ∼10 mg/kg and ∼5 mg/kg abatacept in patients with early RA with poor prognosis who had reached DAS28 (ESR) <2.6 at year 2 of the AGREE study. The primary outcome was time to disease relapse (defined as additional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs, ≥2 courses high-dose steroids, return to open-label abatacept ∼10 mg/kg, or DAS28 (C reactive protein) ≥3.2 at two consecutive visits). Results: 108 patients were randomised (∼10 mg/kg, n=58; ∼5 mg/kg, n=50). Three and five patients, respectively, discontinued, and four per group returned to open-label abatacept. Relapse over time and the proportion of patients relapsing were similar in both groups (31% (∼10 mg/kg) vs 34% (∼5 mg/kg); HR: 0.87 (95% CI 0.45 to 1.69)). Mean steady-state trough serum concentration for the ∼10 mg/kg group was 20.3–24.1 µg/mL, compared with 8.8–12.0 µg/mL for the ∼5 mg/kg group. Conclusions: This exploratory study suggests that abatacept dose reduction may be an option in patients with poor prognosis early RA who achieve DAS28 (ESR) <2.6 after ≥1 year on abatacept (∼10 mg/kg). Trial registration number: NCT00989235.