Four-year real-world experience of secukinumab in a large Italian cohort of axial spondyloarthritis.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate in a real-life Italian multicenter cohort of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) (1) the 4-year effectiveness and safety of secukinumab, (2) the drug retention rate (DRR), and (3) the impact of the line of bDMARDs treatment, subtype of axSpA, and sex on achieving low disease activity (LDA) and very low disease activity (VLDA). Methods: Consecutive axSpA patients receiving secukinumab between 2016 and 2023 were prospectively evaluated. Data on disease characteristics, previous/ongoing treatments, comorbidities, and follow-up duration were collected. Treatment response was evaluated at 6 and 12 months after initiation and yearly up to 48 months (T48). DRR and effectiveness outcomes were evaluated according to bDMARDs treatment, axSpA subtype, and sex. Infections and adverse events (AEs) were recorded. Results: We enrolled 272 patients (48.2% male; median age, 51; 39.7% HLA-B27+; 40.4% nr-axSpA), of whom 30.9% were naïve to secukinumab. Overall, secukinumab yielded improvement in effectiveness outcomes; the naïve patients maintained lower disease activity vs. the non-naïve ones. At T48, the LDA and VLDA rates were higher in naïve patients and in male individuals. Treatment was discontinued in 104 patients due to primary/secondary loss of effectiveness and in 34 patients due to AEs. The DRR at T48 was 67.4% in the whole population, regardless of treatment line, axSpA subtype, and sex. Conclusions: Secukinumab was safe and effective in all axSpA patients irrespective of treatment line, disease subtype, and sex. The patients achieved sustained 4-year remission and DRR.

Effects of upadacitinib on enthesitis in patients with psoriatic arthritis: a post hoc analysis of SELECT-PsA 1 and 2.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize the effect of upadacitinib 15 mg once daily (UPA15) on enthesitis in patients with psoriatic arthritis from the SELECT-PsA Phase 3 trials. METHODS: Patients with an inadequate response/intolerance to ≥ 1 non-biologic DMARD (SELECT-PsA 1) or ≥ 1 biologic DMARD (SELECT-PsA 2) received UPA15, adalimumab 40 mg every other week or placebo (weeks 0-24) switched to UPA15 (week 24 onward). The Leeds Enthesitis Index (LEI) and Spondyloarthritis Research Consortium of Canada (SPARCC) index were used to assess improvement in enthesitis, enthesitis resolution, maintenance of enthesitis resolution, and protection from enthesitis development through week 56. RESULTS: Data from 639 patients receiving UPA15 and 635 patients receiving placebo (including 317 patients who switched from placebo to UPA15) were analysed. UPA15 led to higher rates of enthesitis resolution vs placebo at week 24 (LEI: 59.8% vs 38.0%; SPARCC index: 50.6% vs 31.5%, respectively) and greater improvements in the LEI (-1.7 vs -1.0) and SPARCC index (-3.4 vs -1.9); improvements were maintained through week 56. Improvements were observed after 12 weeks of UPA15 treatment. Over 90% of patients without enthesitis (LEI = 0) at baseline receiving UPA15 were enthesitis-free at week 56, and UPA15 prevented recurrence of enthesitis at week 56 in > 80% of patients with enthesitis at baseline who achieved resolution (LEI = 0) at week 24. CONCLUSIONS: UPA15 is associated with a comprehensive improvement in enthesitis, with improvements observed after 12 weeks of treatment. Additionally, treatment with UPA15 was associated with maintaining an enthesitis-free state after resolution and protection against new-onset enthesitis. CLINICALTRIALS.GOV IDENTIFIERS: NCT03104400 (SELECT-PsA 1) and NCT03104374 (SELECT-PsA 2).

Upadacitinib for the treatment of adult patients with active psoriatic arthritis.

INTRODUCTION: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a rheumatic disorder that may be responsible for relevant articular impairment. The recently licensed Janus Kinase (JaK) inhibitors represent a new opportunity to improve PsA treatment. This review deals with the clinical usefulness of the selective JaK-1 inhibitor upadacitinib (UPA) in patients with PsA. COVERED AREAS: Two phase-III studies are available: SELECT-PsA 1, performed in patients with an inadequate response to non-biological therapies, and SELECT-PsA 2, conducted in biologic-experienced patients. Long-term extension results and post-hoc analysis data of these two trials are also available. EXPERT OPINION: The results provided by the trials indicate that UPA may be used to treat all of the clinical manifestations of PsA. Venous thromboembolism, cardiovascular events, and malignancy, the most feared adverse events associated with JaK inhibitor use, were not increased in the trial populations, yet long-term observational studies are needed to make sure that UPA is safe in this respect.

Management of psoriatic arthritis: a consensus opinion by expert rheumatologists.

Background: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic inflammatory musculoskeletal disease involving several articular and extra-articular structures. Despite the important progresses recently made in all of the aspects of this disease, its management is still burdened by unresolved issues. The aim of this exercise was to provide a set of statements that may be helpful for the management of PsA. Methods: A group of 38 Italian rheumatologists with recognized expertise in PsA selected and addressed the following four topics: "early PsA," "axial-PsA," "extra-articular manifestations and comorbidities," "therapeutic goals." Relevant articles from the literature (2016-2022) were selected by the experts based on a PubMed search. A number of statements for each topic were elaborated. Results: Ninety-four articles were selected and evaluated, 68 out of the 1,114 yielded by the literature search and 26 added by the Authors. Each of the four topic was subdivided in themes as follows: transition from psoriasis to PsA, imaging vs. CASPAR criteria in early diagnosis, early treatment for "early PsA"; axial-PsA vs. axialspondyloarthritis, diagnosis, clinical evaluation, treatment, standard radiography vs. magnetic resonance imaging for "axial PsA"; influence of inflammatory bowel disease on the therapeutic choice, cardiovascular comorbidity, bone damage, risk of infection for "comorbidities and extra-articular manifestations"; target and tools, treat-to-target strategy, role of imaging for "therapeutic goals." The final document consisted of 49 statements. Discussion: The final product of this exercise is a set of statements concerning the main issues of PsA management offering an expert opinion for some unmet needs of this complex disease.

A real-world economic analysis of biologic therapies for psoriatic arthritis in Italy: results of the CHRONOS observational longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is a chronic, immune-mediated, spondyloarthropathy characterised by musculoskeletal signs and symptoms with associated joint pain and tenderness. The average worldwide PsA prevalence is 133/100,000, while in the Italian population is 90-420/100,000. Traditionally, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, glucocorticoid, and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs have been used in the treatment of PsA. However, for those patients who are not adequately controlled with conventional therapies, the new biologics compounds represent a valid option. Biologic therapies have been shown to be more effective but also more expensive than conventional systemic treatments. Based on the CHRONOS study, the economic analyses presented in this paper aim to assess the annualised direct costs and the cost-per-responder of biologics in a real-world context assuming the Italian National Health System perspective. METHODS: The economic assessments were carried out on the overall cohort of patients, and on the tumour necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (TNFi) and the secukinumab subgroup, the most prescribed biologic therapies within the CHRONOS study. RESULTS: The annual economic impact of PsA in the overall group was €12,622, €11,725 in the secukinumab subgroup, and €12,791 in the TNFi subgroup. Biologics absorbed the main expenditure costs in the treatment of PsA accounting for about the 93% of total costs. At 6 months, secukinumab performed better in all the considered outcomes: cost-per-responder according to EULAR DAS28 and ACR50 response criteria were €12,661- €28,975, respectively, while they were €13,356 - €33,368 in the overall cohort and €13,138 - €35,166 in the TNFi subgroup. At 12 months secukinumab remained the subgroup with the lowest cost-per-responder ratio in EULAR DAS28 and ACR50 response criteria, while TNFi subgroup was the lowest one considered the ACR20. CONCLUSION: Despite some potential methodological limitations, our cost-per-response analysis provides physicians and payers additional insights which can complement the traditional risk-benefit profile assessment and drive treatment decisions.

Real-world evidence of biologic treatments in psoriatic arthritis in Italy: results of the CHRONOS (EffeCtiveness of biologic treatments for psoriatic artHRitis in Italy: an ObservatioNal lOngitudinal Study of real-life clinical practice) observational longitudinal study.

BACKGROUND: Biologics have demonstrated efficacy in PsA in randomized clinical trials. More evidence is needed on their effectiveness under real clinical practice conditions. The aim of the present work is to provide real-world evidence of the effectiveness of biologics for PsA in the daily clinical practice. METHODS: CHRONOS was a multicenter, non-interventional, cohort study conducted in 20 Italian hospital rheumatology clinics. RESULTS: 399 patients were eligible (56.9% females, mean (SD) age: 52.4 (11.6) years). The mean (SD) duration of PsA and psoriasis was 7.2 (6.9) and 15.3 (12.2) years, respectively. The mean (SD) duration of the biologic treatment under analysis was 18.6 (6.5) months. The most frequently prescribed biologic was secukinumab (40.4%), followed by adalimumab (17.8%) and etanercept (16.5%). The proportion of overall responders according to EULAR DAS28 criteria was 71.8% (95% CI: 66.7-76.8%) out of 308 patients at 6 months and 68.0% (95% CI: 62.7-73.3%) out of 297 patients at 1 year. Overall, ACR20/50/70 responses at 6 months were 41.2% (80/194), 29.4% (57/194), 17.1% (34/199) and at 1-year were 34.9% (66/189), 26.7% (51/191), 18.4% (36/196), respectively. Secondary outcome measures improved rapidly already at 6 months: mean (SD) PASI, available for 87 patients, decreased from 3.2 (5.1) to 0.6 (1.3), the proportion of patients with dactylitis from 23.6% (35/148) to 3.5% (5/142) and those with enthesitis from 33.3% (49/147) to 9.0% (12/133). CONCLUSIONS: The CHRONOS study provides real-world evidence of the effectiveness of biologics in PsA in the Italian rheumatological practice, confirming the efficacy reported in RCTs across various outcome measures.

Residual Disease in Patients with Axial Spondyloarthritis: A Post-Hoc Analysis of the QUASAR Study.

In this study, we evaluated the presence of residual disease in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) in remission/low disease activity (LDA) status. This cross-sectional post-hoc analysis of the QUASAR study involving 23 rheumatology centres across Italy included adults with axSpA classified according to the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society criteria. Patients with inactive disease (score < 1.3) or at least LDA status (score < 2.1) at baseline visit according to Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score were investigated to evaluate how residual disease activity impacts patients' quality of life. They were assessed using the Ankylosing Spondylitis Quality of Life (ASQoL) and EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) questionnaires. This study included 480 patients with axSpA (mean age, 47.5 ± 12.9 years, 64% male). In total, 123 patients (25.6%) had inactive disease and 262 (54.6%) had at least LDA. Using the ASQoL, ranges of 10−25% and 20−40% of patients with inactive disease and with LDA status, respectively, experienced tiredness/fatigue. Despite being classified with inactive disease, 48.8% of patients reported light pain/discomfort according to the EQ-5D-5L, with 4.1% reporting moderate pain/discomfort, whereas 55.7% of patients with LDA reported light pain/discomfort and 13% had moderate pain/discomfort. Using the ASQoL questionnaire, in patients with at least LDA, a higher proportion of women compared with males and a higher proportion of patients > 48 years of age (vs. patients ≤ 48 years) experienced tiredness. In this post-hoc analysis, ≥25% of axSpA patients in remission/LDA status were still burdened by residual disease, mainly characterised by pain and fatigue.

Effectiveness and safety of secukinumab in axial spondyloarthritis: a 24-month prospective, multicenter real-life study.

Objectives: To evaluate, in a multicentric Italian cohort of axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) patients on Secukinumab (SEC) followed for 24 months: (1) the long-term effectiveness and safety of SEC; (2) the drug retention rate and low disease activity (LDA) measured as Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) < 4/Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) < 2.1 and very low disease activity (VLDA) measured as BASDAI < 2/ASDAS < 1.3; (3) any differences in outcomes according to line of biological treatment (naïve/non-naïve), gender (male/female), subtype of axSpA [radiographic axSpA (r-axSpA)/non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA)]. Methods: Consecutive axSpA patients treated with SEC were evaluated prospectively. Disease characteristics, previous/ongoing treatments, comorbidities, and follow-up duration were collected. Disease activity/functional/clinimetric scores and biochemical-values were recorded at baseline (T0), 6 (T6), 12 (T12), and 24 (T24) months. Effectiveness was evaluated over-time with descriptive statistics; multivariate Cox and logistic regression models were used to evaluate predictors of drug discontinuation and LDA at T6. Infections and adverse events were recorded. Results: A total 249 patients (47.8% male; median age 51) were enrolled; 40.9% had HLA-B27; 53.8% had r-axSpA, and 46.2% nr-axSpA. SEC was prescribed in 28.9% naïve and in 71.1% non-naïve patients. SEC effectiveness was shown as an improvement in several outcomes, such as ASDAS [T0 = 3.5 (2.9-4.4) versus T24 = 1.9 (1.2-2.4); p = 0.02] and BASDAI [T0 = 6.5 (5.0-7.5) versus T24 = 2.8 (1.8-4.0); p = 0.03]. At T24, naïve patients showed better physical functioning and lower disease activity than non-naïve. After 24 months of treatment, 90.7% of naïve and 75.3% of non-naïve patients achieved LDA (BASDAI < 4). Treatment was discontinued in 24.5% patients, mainly due to primary/secondary loss of effectiveness, and in 6.8% due to adverse events. Retention rate at T24 was 75% in the whole population, with some difference depending on gender (p = 0.002). Conclusion: In a real-life clinical setting, SEC proved to be safe and effective in axSpA, mainly in naïve-patients, with a notable drug retention rate. No differences were observed between r-axSpA and nr-axSpA.

The CHRONOS Real-World Evidence of Biologic Treatments in Psoriatic Arthritis in Italy: A Post Hoc Gender Analysis.

Background: Phenotypic features and outcome differences between sexes have been reported in psoriatic arthritis (PsA). However, little is known about sex differences in effectiveness of biologics in clinical practice. Methods: Post hoc gender analysis of the CHRONOS, a multicenter, noninterventional, retroprospective Italian real-world study assessing 6-month and 1-year effectiveness of biologics for PsA. Results: Eligible patients were 399, 43.1% men. Sociodemographic characteristics, type of arthritis, baseline Disease Activity Score 28 joints (DAS28), and duration of biologic treatment were rather homogeneous. More men were overweight/obese and naive to biologics. The most frequently used biologics were TNF-inhibitors and secukinumab in both sexes. DAS28 responders were 72.7% (women) and 70.5% (men) at 6 months, and 68.0% in both sexes at 1 year. American College of Rheumatology (ACR) response showed a trend for men versus women to achieve more frequently ACR50 (32.6% vs. 26.5% at 6 months; 34.9% vs. 20.0% at 1 year) and ACR70 (22.3% vs. 12.4% at 6 months and 25.0% vs. 13.0% at 1 year). Global satisfaction with treatment at enrollment and after 6 months was slightly higher among men [mean (standard deviation) Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication-9 (TSQM-9) score: 68.6 (18.6) and 69.9 (18.2), respectively] than women [65.3 (18.2), 66.2 (18.5)]. Conclusions: Overall response to biologics for PsA was rather favorable. With similar baseline disease severity, men appear to have a somewhat earlier and better response with higher treatment satisfaction.

Upadacitinib as monotherapy and in combination with non-biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs for psoriatic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of upadacitinib (UPA), an oral Janus kinase inhibitor, as monotherapy or in combination with non-biologic DMARDs (nbDMARDs) in patients with PsA. METHODS: Pooled data were analysed from patients with prior inadequate response or intolerance to one or more nbDMARD (SELECT-PsA 1) or one or more biologic DMARD (SELECT-PsA 2) who received placebo, UPA 15 mg once daily (QD) or UPA 30 mg QD as monotherapy or in combination with two or fewer nbDMARDs for 24 weeks. Efficacy outcomes included achievement of ACR responses, Psoriasis Area and Severity Index responses, minimal disease activity and change from baseline and clinically meaningful improvement in the HAQ Disability Index. Adverse events (AEs) were summarized. RESULTS: A total of 1916 patients were included; 574 (30%) received monotherapy and 1342 (70%) received combination therapy. Placebo-subtracted treatment effects for a 20% improvement in ACR criteria at week 12 were 33.7% (95% CI 24.4, 43.1) and 34.0% (95% CI 27.9, 40.1) for UPA 15 mg QD monotherapy and combination therapy, respectively, and 45.7% (95% CI 36.9, 54.5) and 39.6% (95% CI 33.7, 45.5) for UPA 30 mg QD monotherapy and combination therapy, respectively. Treatment effects for other outcomes were consistent between monotherapy and combination therapy. AE frequency was generally similar for UPA monotherapy and combination therapy, although hepatic disorders and creatine phosphokinase elevation were more common with combination therapy vs monotherapy. CONCLUSION: The efficacy and safety of UPA were generally consistent when administered as monotherapy or in combination with nbDMARDs through 24 weeks, supporting the use of UPA with or without nbDMARDs in PsA. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (https://clinicaltrials.gov): SELECT-PsA 1 (NCT03104400), SELECT-PsA 2 (NCT03104374).

Residual inflammation in psoriatic arthritis patients in stable minimal disease activity.

Background: In psoriatic arthritis (PsA), low disease activity as defined by the Minimal Disease Activity (MDA) index is considered a good treatment target. However, as MDA is based only on clinical findings, it might not capture pauci-symptomatic inflammation. Sensitive imaging such as ultrasound (US) might disclose residual inflammatory signs in PsA patients in MDA. Methods: In this cross-sectional multicentre study, adult PsA patients on biologic treatment in MDA for at least 6 months were consecutively enrolled for a thorough clinical and US examination. Data collection included demographics, personal history, main patient's reported outcomes, clinical and US findings of joints, tendon sheaths, tendons, bursae, and entheses involvement. All centers performed the US investigation in B-mode and Power Doppler (PD)-mode using a similar US machine equipped with a 18-6 and 13-5 MHz multifrequency linear probe. Statistical analysis included comparisons between groups and correlation tests. Results: The 72 PsA patients enrolled in the study had a median duration of MDA of 12 (6-65) months. Overall, US examination revealed a low number of acute lesions. However, 54% of patients had at least one PD signal in the examined tissues. A joint or enthesis positive PD signal was found in about 19 and 24% of patients, respectively. Synovial hypertrophy, at least one acute entheseal lesions, and bursitis were the most common changes, detected in 41.7, 41.7 and 26% of patients, respectively. Conclusions: PsA patients in a stable state of MDA may still have residual inflammation in peripheral articular structures detectable by US examination.

Predictors, Risk Factors, and Incidence Rates of Psoriatic Arthritis Development in Psoriasis Patients: A Systematic Literature Review and Meta-Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Agreement on how to identify psoriasis (PsO) patients at risk of developing psoriatic arthritis (PsA) is lacking. OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors, risk factors and incidence rate (IR) of PsA development in PsO patients through a systematic literature review (SLR) and meta-analyses (MA). METHODS: MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases were searched. Cohort studies were used to assess the predictors, while case-control studies for PsA risk factor determination. RESULTS: We screened 4698 articles for eligibility, and 110 underwent a full reading and 26 were finally included. Among skin and nail phenotypes, PsO severity and nail pitting were selected as predictors of PsA development. Furthermore, PsO patients with arthralgia (pooled RR 2.15 [1.16; 3.99]) and/or with imaging-MSK inflammation (pooled RR 3.72 [2.12; 6.51]) were at high risk of PsA. Higher categories of BMI and a family history of PsA were other predictors. In outpatient-based cohort studies, the IR of PsA per 100 patient-years varied from 1.34 to 17.4. LIMITATIONS: Despite the strength of the overall results, the heterogeneity and the number of the cohort studies could be considered a limitation. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a tentative profile of the PsO patient at risk of PsA and will help the design of PsA prevention trials.

Effectiveness and safety of secukinumab in 608 patients with psoriatic arthritis in real life: a 24-month prospective, multicentre study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate in a multicentric Italian cohort of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) on secukinumab followed for 24 months: (1) the long-term effectiveness and safety of secukinumab, (2) the drug retention rate and minimal disease activity (MDA), (3) differences in the outcomes according to the biological treatment line: biologic-naïve patients (group A) versus multifailure (group B) patients. METHODS: Consecutive patients with PsA receiving secukinumab were evaluated prospectively. Disease characteristics, previous/ongoing treatments, comorbidities and follow-up duration were collected. Disease activity/functional/clinimetric scores and biochemical values were recorded at baseline (T0), 6(T6), 12(T12) and 24(T24) months. Effectiveness was evaluated overtime with descriptive statistics; multivariate Cox and logistic regression models were used to evaluate predictors of drug-discontinuation and MDA at T6. Infections and adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: 608 patients (41.28% men; mean (SD) age 52.78 (11.33)) were enrolled; secukinumab was prescribed as first-line biological treatment in 227 (37.34%) patients, as second (or more)-line biological treatment in 381 (62.66%). Effectiveness of secukinumab was shown with an improvement in several outcomes, such as Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (T0=3.26 (0.88) vs T24=1.60 (0.69) ;p=0.02) and Disease Activity Index for Psoriatic Arthritis (T0=25.29 (11.14) vs T24=7.69 (4.51); p<0.01). At T24, group A showed lower Psoriasis Area Severity Index (p=0.04), erythrocyte sedimentation rate and C reactive protein (p=0.03 ;p=0.05) and joint count (p=0.03) compared with group B. At T24, MDA was achieved in 75.71% of group A and 70.37% of group B. Treatment was discontinued in 123 (20.23%) patients, mainly due to primary/secondary loss of effectiveness, and in 22 due to adverse events. Retention rate at T24 was 71% in the whole population, with some difference depending on secukinumab dosage (p=0.004) and gender (p=0.05). CONCLUSIONS: In a real-life clinical setting, secukimumab proved safe and effective in all PsA domains, with notable drug retention rate.

Quality of life and therapeutic management of axial spondyloarthritis patients in Italy: a 12-month prospective observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL), disease activity, treatment adherence, and work ability in the real-world setting in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA). METHODS: QUASAR was a prospective 12-month, observational study involving 23 rheumatology centres across Italy, including adult patients with axSpA according to the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis International Society (ASAS) criteria. Patients were followed at baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months for disease activity and health-related QoL (HRQoL), treatment adherence and work ability. Regression analysis was used to assess the association between treatment and outcome variables. RESULTS: 413 (80.7%) out of axSpA 512 patients were diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and 99 (19.3%) with non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). Nr-axSpA and AS patients had similar baseline disease activity and HRQoL. Biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) were the most frequent medication (n=426, 83.2%). Over the 1-year follow-up, disease activity measures (joint pain and swelling, CRP, global assessment, BASDAI, ASDAS), HRQoL and work ability significantly improved, while few differences emerged between nr-axSpA and AS patients. Treatment satisfaction and adherence questionnaires improved over the 12 months. Patients treated with bDMARDs showed improved outcomes for disease activity measures and HRQoL variables, greater benefit observed in patients with AS. CONCLUSIONS: We found clinical and HRQoL improvement over 1 year in a large, real-world population of nr-axSpA and AS patients treated with bDMARDs or conventional synthetic DMARDs.

Golimumab effectiveness in biologic inadequate responding patients with rheumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondyloarthritis in real-life from the Italian registry GISEA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of golimumab in biologic inadequate responder (IR) patients with Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Spondyloarthritis (SpA), and Psoriatic arthritis (PsA). METHODS: We analyzed 1424 patients on golimumab from the GISEA registry. Drug survival was estimated by Kaplan-Meier analysis in biologic-naïve, 1-biologic IR, ≥2-biologics IR patients. Hazard ratios (HRs) of discontinuing golimumab at 2 years were assessed by multivariate Cox regression. Patients achieving CDAI based low disease activity (LDA) or BASDAI<4 were calculated at 6 and 12 months. RESULTS: In RA (n.370), the 2-years survival on golimumab was 61.4% in 1-biologic IR, 51.9% in≥2-biologics IR, and 73.1% in biologic-naive patients (P=0.002 vs≥2-biologics IR). In SpA (n.502), the survival was similar among 1-biologic IR (80%), ≥2-biologics IR (76.5%), and biologic-naive (74.6%) patients (P>0.05). In PsA (n.552) the survival was 72% in 1-biologic IR, 72.5% in≥2-biologics IR, and 71.8% in naïve-biologic (P>0.05). Predictors of golimumab discontinuation were monotherapy (HR 1.65) for RA, female gender for SpA (HR 2.48) and PsA (HR 1.57). In RA, patients on CDAI-LDA were lower in 1-biologic IR (40%) or≥2 biologics IR (40%) than in biologic-naïve (60%) group at 6 months (P=0.02), but no difference was observed at 12 months. In PsA and SpA, the percentage of patients on CDAI-LDA or BASDAI<4 at 6 months was almost identical across the subgroups. CONCLUSIONS: Golimumab had similar effectiveness in biologic-failure and biologic-naïve SpA and PsA, but seems to be less effective in multi-failure RA patients, especially as monotherapy. The best outcomes were seen in male patients.

Use of Ultrasonography to Discriminate Psoriatic Arthritis from Fibromyalgia: A Post-Hoc Analysis of the ULISSE Study.

In psoriatic arthritis (PsA) patients with concomitant chronic widespread pain, the differential diagnosis with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) can be challenging. We evaluated whether ultrasound (US) examination of entheseal sites can distinguish pain from (PsA) enthesitis versus FMS. PsA and FMS patients underwent clinical evaluation and gray-scale (GS; B-mode) and power Doppler (PD) US examination of the entheses. At least one enthesis with GS- and PD-mode changes was found in 90% and 59.3% of PsA patients (n = 140) and 62.7% and 35.3% of FMS patients (n = 51), respectively. GS and PD identified changes in 49.5% and 19.2% of the 840 PsA entheses and 22.5% and 7.9% of the 306 FMS entheses, respectively. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis showed an area under the curve of 0.77 and 0.66 for B- and PD-mode, respectively, 3.5 being the best cut-off GS-score to discriminate the two conditions. Multivariate regression showed that Achilles and proximal patellar tendon enthesitis (B-mode) were strongly associated with PsA (odds ratio, ~2). Principal component analysis (B-mode) confirmed that PsA patients have a higher number of involved entheses and patterns of entheseal involvement than FMS patients. US evaluation of the entheses may help differentiate chronic widespread pain from PsA versus FMS.

Personalized medicine in rheumatoid arthritis: How immunogenicity impacts use of TNF inhibitors.

Up to 40% of patients treated with tumor necrosis factor alpha inhibitors (TNFi) do not respond to therapy. Testing drug bioavailability and/or anti-drug antibody (ADAb) levels may justify dosage adjustment or switch to different drugs, enabling a personalized medicine approach. We report a multicenter cross-sectional study on different methods [ELISA and a cell based functional assay (reporter gene assay - RGA)] for drug/ADAb detection, and on the relationship between drug bioavailability and ADAb. 163 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treated with infliximab (IFX; n = 67), adalimumab (ADL; n = 49) or etanercept (ETA; n = 47) were tested for drug and ADAb levels. Furthermore, we report prospective data from additional 70 patients (59 RA and 11 juvenile idiopathic arthritis - JIA) tested for drug and ADAb levels at baseline (T0) and after 3 (T3) and 6 months (T6) of treatment with ADL or ETA only. IFX-treated patients were not included because of the increasing use of IFX biosimilars. Stringent inclusion criteria were used in order to avoid unwanted variables in both studies; none of the patients used TNFi before the study, and TNFi was used only in combination with methotrexate. Clinical response was defined according to EULAR response criteria. The two assays performed comparably in the comparison study. Accordingly, ELISA was selected for the prospective study because of its feasibility in the clinical setting. The cross-sectional study found ADAb in IFX and ADL treated groups only, that were associated with a decrease in pharmacological drug availability in the blood. Comparable results were found for the ADL-treated group in the prospective study which also showed a relationship between drug/ADAb levels and the loss of clinical response. Altogether our findings support drug and anti-drug Ab monitoring in the real-world clinical setting thus enabling individualized treatment and reducing disability in chronic inflammatory arthritis.

Improvement of Function and Its Determinants in a Group of Axial Spondyloarthritis Patients Treated with TNF Inhibitors: A Real-Life Study.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this work is to investigate the improvement of physical function and its determinants in axial spondyloarthritis (SpA) patients treated with tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors in a real clinical practice setting. METHODS: An observational study was conducted in patients with axial SpA treated with anti-TNF from 2010 to 2018 with a minimum 6 months of follow-up. All patients fulfilled ASAS or the modified New York criteria. The Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI) and the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI) were used as objective and self-reported functional indices. The improvement of function and factors associated were evaluated for the present study, as well as disease activity and patient-reported outcome measures. RESULTS: A total of 183 patients with axial SpA were examined. Among them, 27 were non-radiographic axial SpA, while the remaining 156 were ankylosing spondylitis patients. BASFI and BASMI significantly improved during follow-up. Improvement of metrology index BASMI inverse correlated with disease duration (rho - 0.2, p = 0.009) and directly correlated with the improvement of BASDAI (rho 0.26, p = 0.003) and CRP (rho 0.26, p = 0.0003). Improvement of BASFI significantly inversely correlated with disease duration and directly correlated with the improvement of BASDAI, CRP, and baseline ESR. Male sex, lower disease duration, high ESR, and the improvement of BASDAI were found to be associated with the improvement of BASFI. CONCLUSIONS: Our results showed that in real-life settings, patients improve in BASMI and BASFI. Furthermore, factors associated with this improvement were identified.

Systematic literature review of non-topical treatments for early, untreated (systemic therapy naïve) psoriatic disease: a GRAPPA initiative.

BACKGROUND: Psoriatic disease (PsD) is a complex systemic disorder with cutaneous and musculoskeletal manifestations. Current evidence on pharmacological interventions, effective across the spectrum of clinical manifestations of early, systemic treatment-naïve PsD, is limited. This review aims to appraise such evidence. METHODS: This systematic review examined seven patient-intervention-comparator-outcome research questions to address the efficacy of the interventions on the following: across the spectrum of clinical manifestations PsD activity; peripheral arthritis; dactylitis; spondylitis; enthesitis; skin; and nails. Early PsD was defined as a disease duration of ≤2 years, except for studies investigating outcomes restricted to the skin. Eligible references were clinical trials or well-designed prospective studies/series reporting on adult humans, untreated, with cutaneous and/or musculoskeletal features of PsD. RESULTS: Nine references (out of 160 319, publication range 1946-2019) fulfilled the eligibility criteria. No study adopted comprehensive (that is, simultaneous assessment of different PsD manifestations) composite indices as primary outcome measures. Individual studies reported that apremilast and biologics successfully improved outcomes (disease activity index for PsA, minimal disease activity, PsA DAS, psoriasis area and severity index, PsA response criteria) when efficacy analyses were restricted to single manifestations of untreated PsD. Only qualitative synthesis of evidence was possible, owing to the following factors: data heterogeneity (disease classification criteria, outcome measures); unavailable data subsets (focused on early, untreated PsD) at the single study level; and insufficient data on the exposure of participants to previous treatment. CONCLUSION: Effective interventions, albeit limited in scope, were found for early, treatment-naïve PsD. No study provided evidence about the management of co-occurring cutaneous and musculoskeletal manifestations in early, treatment-naïve PsD. This review highlights an unmet need in research on early PsD.

Observational study on the QUality of life of Italian Axial SpondyloARthritis patients (QUASAR): baseline data.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the baseline characteristics of the patients enrolled in the QUality of life in patients with Axial SpondyloARthritis (QUASAR) study in terms of quality of life (QoL), disease activity, therapy adherence, and work ability in a real-world setting. METHODS: QUASAR is an Italian multicentre, prospective 12-month observational study, including consecutive adult patients classified as axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) according to the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society criteria for axSpA. RESULTS: Of 512 patients enrolled in 23 rheumatology centres, 80.7% had ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and 19.3% had non-radiographic axSpA (nr-axSpA). Mean ages were 34.1±13.3 years at axSpA symptoms onset and 39.5±13.0 years at diagnosis. Of the patients, 51.4% presented with ≥1 extra articular manifestation (EAM); the most common were psoriasis (17.8%) and uveitis (16.4%). Patients with nr-axSpA and AS had similar EAM rates, disease activity, and QoL. Biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (bDMARDs; 83.2%) were the most commonly received medication, followed by conventional synthetic DMARDs (22.9%) and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs; 16.6%). At baseline, higher treatment satisfaction was reported with bDMARDs which, together with NSAIDs, were associated with the best overall scores for disease activity, function, and QoL in the overall population and AS subgroup. CONCLUSIONS: QUASAR is the first Italian prospective study that comprehensively evaluated a large axSpA patient sample in a real-world setting. This interim analysis at baseline confirmed that i) patients with AS and nr-axSpA have similar QoL and disease burden, ii) nearly all axSpA patients receive treatment, and iii) bDMARDs and NSAIDs, overall, yield better disease activity and QoL.