Infliximab for pediatric patients with ulcerative colitis: a phase 3, open-label, uncontrolled, multicenter trial in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric ulcerative colitis (UC) is typically more extensive and has a more active disease course than adult UC, and requires early treatment augmentation to achieve and maintain disease remission. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetic profile of infliximab (IFX) in pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe UC and inadequate response to existing treatment. METHODS: This open-label, uncontrolled, multicenter, Phase 3 trial was conducted at 17 centers in Japan between April 2012 and September 2014. Pediatric patients (aged 6-17 years) diagnosed with moderate-to-severe UC received a treatment protocol comprising 5 mg/kg IFX at Weeks 0, 2, and 6, and Clinical Activity Index (CAI)-based responders at Week 8 also received treatment at 8-week intervals at Weeks 14 and 22, with a final evaluation at Week 30. RESULTS: A total of 21 patients were treated in this study. IFX therapy rapidly improved clinical symptoms, and this effect was maintained for up to 30 weeks. Overall CAI-based remission rate was 42.9% and overall Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI)-based remission rate was 19.0%. Median partial Mayo score was 6.0 at baseline and 4.0 at Week 30 (overall). Among the eight patients who underwent sigmoidoscopy, Mayo response was achieved at Week 30 (overall) in three patients (37.5%). Trough serum IFX concentrations in Week 8 CAI-based responders were maintained throughout the study period. Adverse events and serious adverse events were observed in 95.2 and 14.3% of patients, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: These results support the use of IFX in the treatment of pediatric patients with UC with inadequate response to existing treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov, registration number: NCT01585155 .

Correction: Infliximab for pediatric patients with Crohn's disease: A Phase 3, open-label, uncontrolled, multicenter trial in Japan.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201956.].

Infliximab for pediatric patients with Crohn's disease: A Phase 3, open-label, uncontrolled, multicenter trial in Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The prevalence of pediatric Crohn's disease (CD) is increasing in Japan and other countries, and many patients are unresponsive to or do not tolerate current treatment options. This study aimed to investigate the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetic profile of infliximab (IFX) in pediatric patients with moderate-to-severe CD and inadequate response to existing treatment. STUDY DESIGN: This was an open-label, uncontrolled, multicenter Phase 3 study conducted at nine sites in Japan between April 2012 and March 2015. Pediatric patients (aged 6-17 years) with moderate-to-severe CD were treated with IFX 5 mg/kg at Weeks 0, 2, and 6, and at 8-week intervals thereafter until Week 46, with final evaluation at Week 54. IFX dose was increased to 10 mg/kg in patients who showed loss of response to IFX from Week 14 onwards. RESULTS: A total of 14 patients fulfilled eligibility criteria and were treated. Dose-escalation criteria were met by five patients who then received 10 mg/kg IFX. The remaining nine patients continued to receive an IFX dose of 5 mg/kg. IFX rapidly improved clinical symptoms and its effect was maintained for up to 54 weeks. Overall Pediatric Crohn's Disease Activity Index (PCDAI) response rate was 85.7%, and overall PCDAI remission rate was 64.3%. Three out of five patients who increased IFX dose regained PCDAI remission by retrieval of serum IFX concentration. Adverse events and serious adverse events occurred in 100.0% and 14.3% of patients, respectively. There was no substantial difference in the safety profiles of patients taking a constant dose of 5 mg/kg and those taking an increased dose of 10 mg/kg. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the effective use of IFX in the treatment of pediatric patients with CD where other treatments have proven ineffective.

Infliximab therapy for intestinal, neurological, and vascular involvement in Behcet disease: Efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics in a multicenter, prospective, open-label, single-arm phase 3 study.

Behçet disease (BD) is a multisystem disease associated with a poor prognosis in cases of gastrointestinal, neurological, or vascular involvement. We conducted a multicenter, prospective, open-label, single-arm phase 3 study to determine the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of infliximab (IFX) in BD patients with these serious complications who had displayed poor response or intolerance to conventional therapy.IFX at 5 mg/kg was administered to 18 patients (11 intestinal BD, 3 neurological BD [NBD], and 4 vascular BD [VBD]) at weeks 0, 2, and 6 and every 8 weeks thereafter until week 46. In patients who showed inadequate responses to IFX after week 30, the dose was increased to 10 mg/kg. We then calculated the percentage of complete responders according to the predefined criteria depending on the symptoms and results of examinations (ileocolonoscopy, brain magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography angiography, positron emission tomography, cerebrospinal fluid, or serum inflammatory markers), exploring the percentage of complete responders at week 30 (primary endpoint).The percentage of complete responders was 61% (11/18) at both weeks 14 and 30 and remained the same until week 54. Intestinal BD patients showed improvement in clinical symptoms along with decrease in C-reactive protein (CRP) levels after week 2. Consistently, scarring or healing of the principal ulcers was found in more than 80% of these patients after week 14. NBD patients showed improvement in clinical symptoms, imaging findings, and cerebrospinal fluid examinations. VBD patients showed improvement in clinical symptoms after week 2 with reductions in CRP levels and erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Imaging findings showed reversal of inflammatory changes in 3 of the 4 VBD patients. Irrespective of the type of BD, all patients achieved improvement in quality of life, leading to the dose reduction or withdrawal of steroids. IFX dose was increased to 10 mg/kg in 3 intestinal BD patients, resulting in the improvement of clinical symptoms, CRP levels, and visual analogue scale score. Safety and pharmacokinetics profiles were comparable to those in patients with rheumatoid arthritis or Crohn disease. These findings support IFX as a new therapeutic option for patients with intestinal BD, NBD, or VBD.

First trough level of infliximab at week 2 predicts future outcomes of induction therapy in ulcerative colitis-results from a multicenter prospective randomized controlled trial and its post hoc analysis.

BACKGROUND: Infliximab (IFX) is one of the treatments of choice for corticosteroid-refractory and corticosteroid-dependent ulcerative colitis (UC). A high serum trough level of IFX (TL) is reported to be associated with sustained efficacy during maintenance treatment. As part of a phase 3 randomized controlled trial of IFX in UC, we assessed the predictive value of the first TL at week 2 for short- and long-term response. METHODS: Patients received intravenous IFX 5 mg/kg or placebo at weeks 0, 2, and 6. Patients with evidence of a response by week 8 continued treatment at weeks 14 and 22. TL was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Post hoc analysis was then performed for TL and clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Clinical response rate at week 8, the primary end point, was significantly higher in the IFX group than placebo (p = 0.005). The incidence of adverse events between groups was similar. Week 2 TL was significantly associated with a 14-week clinical activity index (CAI) remission. In multiple logistic regression analysis, the week 2 TL-to-CAI ratio (TL/CAI, odds ratio 8.07; 95% confidence interval 2.84-27.07, p < 0.001) was an independent factor correlating with 14-week CAI remission. The week 2 TL and TL/CAI were also significantly associated with 30-week mucosal healing. CONCLUSIONS: IFX was confirmed to be effective and safe in this population. Our results suggest that the first TL at week 2, in combination with clinical evaluation, is useful for predicting both short- and long-term outcomes, allowing an earlier decision between continuing IFX or switching to other options.

Circulating Interleukin 6 and Albumin, and Infliximab Levels Are Good Predictors of Recovering Efficacy After Dose Escalation Infliximab Therapy in Patients with Loss of Response to Treatment for Crohn's Disease: A Prospective Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: We aimed to clarify the efficacy, safety, and factors associated with remission on dose escalation in patients with Crohn's disease showing loss of response (LOR) to infliximab treatment of 5 mg/kg at 8-week intervals in a clinical trial. METHODS: Thirty-nine patients with LOR to 5 mg/kg infliximab therapy started treatment with 10 mg/kg per 8 weeks. LOR was defined as both a Crohn's Disease Activity Index of ≥175 at 8 weeks after infusion of 5 mg/kg infliximab and a Crohn's Disease Activity Index increase of ≥50 from 4 to 8 weeks after infusion. RESULTS: At week 8 after the first infusion of 10 mg/kg, median (95% confidence interval) reduction in Crohn's Disease Activity Index of 33 patients evaluated was 95.0 (70.0-134.0), meeting the primary endpoint. Remission rate at week 40 was 41% (16 of 39), with correlation noted between remission achievement and serum infliximab level (P = 0.036). Univariate analysis revealed that "infliximab trough level ≥1 µg/mL," "interleukin 6 level ≤2.41 pg/mL," and "albumin level ≥3.8 g/dL" before dose escalation were significantly associated with remission at week 40 (P = 0.017, P = 0.011, and P = 0.019, respectively), and these variables were correlated with each other (all: P < 0.001). The cutoff infliximab level for remission was 0.42 µg/mL in receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. No adverse events related to dose escalation were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Doubling the infliximab dose safely led to remission in patients with Crohn's disease with LOR to 5 mg/kg treatment. Remission was associated with pre-escalation levels of infliximab, interleukin 6, and albumin. Our findings suggest that dose escalation while maintaining a certain level of infliximab is important in achieving remission.