Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis: The Past, the Present and the Future Lai-Ling Winchow FCP(SA) Cert Rheum(SA) Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital University of the Witwatersrand
Outline of presentation Milestones in the treatment of RA Current treatment strategy:- Early diagnosis Early initiation of DMARDs Synthetic, biological and targeted synthetic DMARDs Corticosteroids Treat to target Remission and Drug-free remission Co-morbidities Take home messages
Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) chronic progressive multi-system autoimmune disorder with a predilection for synovial joints Prevalence of RA: ~1% of the population Joint damage and subsequent deformity leads to considerable functional disability Black South Africans with established RA have significantly worse functional disability compared to SLE patients AlamanosY et al. Autoimmun Rev 2005 Paco MJ et al. Arthritis Rheum 2001 Benitha R et al. Clin Rheumatol 2007
Milestones in the treatment of RA Year 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s RA Management Salicylates + Steroids Gold Salts D-penicillimine Chloroquine (CHQ) Sulphasalazine (SZP) Cyclophosphamide Azathioprine (plasmaphoresis) (Lymphoid irradiation) NSAIDs + Steroids Methotrexate (MTX) MTX plus CHQ SZP Leflunomide MTX/Triple therapy + Steroids MTX/Leflunomide + Anti-TNF Switch Anti-TNF MTX + Biologic Continue or switch biologic Tofacitinib Reduce DMARDs Treatment Target Clinical improvement Poorly defined Treat to Target Remission? Drug-free remission AnastassiadesTP. Can Med Assoc J 1980 Saag K et al. Arthritis Rheum 2008 Singh j et al. Athritis Care Res 2012 Smolen J et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2014
Early Diagnosis inflammation Inflammation deformity Deformity Time Quinn MA et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2003
Early DMARD initiation on radiographic progression Van Aken J et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2004
2010 ACR/EULAR Classification Criteria for RA Two requirements: (1) Patient with at least one joint with definite clinical synovitis (swelling) (2) Synovitis is not better explained by another disease 6 = definite RA JOINT DISTRIBUTION (0-5) 1 large joint 0 2-10 large joints 1 1-3 small joints (large joints not counted) 2 4-10 small joints (large joints not counted) 3 >10 joints (at least one small joint) 5 SEROLOGY (0-3) Negative RF AND negative ACPA 0 Low positive RF OR low positive ACPA 2 High positive RF OR high positive ACPA 3 SYMPTOM DURATION (0-1) <6 weeks 0 6 weeks 1 ACUTE PHASE REACTANTS (0-1) Normal CRP AND normal ESR 0 Abnormal CRP OR abnormal ESR 1 Aletaha D et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2010
Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) Conventional synthetic DMARDs Methotrexate Leflunomide Sulfasalazine Anti-malarials Hydroxychloroquine Chloroquine Biological DMARDs Anti-TNFs Etanercept Adalimumab Infliximab Golimumab Certolisumab pegol Rituximab Abatacept Tocilizumab Targeted synthetic DMARDs Tofacitinib
Synthetic DMARDs - Methotrexate Anchor drug Folate antagonist 2/3 of patients have adequate response to MTX as monotherapy or combination therapy (non-biological DMARDs) Good retention rates Dose: 10-25mg weekly Folate supplementation: 5-10mg weekly Adverse effects: Gastro-intestinal intolerance and headaches are common; bone marrow suppression, lung and liver toxicities are very uncommon PincusT et al. Bull Hosp Jt Dis 2013 Weinblatt ME. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc 2013
Biological DMARDs
Biological DMARDs anti-tnfs First line biological treatment Subcutaneous or intravenous administration Administration with MTX is superior to monotherapy Safety concerns: increase risk of infection esp. tuberculosis and herpes zoster; slight increase risk of melanoma Cost issues Vivar N et al. F1000Prime Rep 2014
Biological DMARDs - Rituximab Chimeric Anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody Approved for treatment of RA patients in combination with MTX who have had an inadequate response to anti-tnf Increase efficacy in seropositive patients Administered IV 2 doses (500mg or 1g/dose) 2 weeks apart Safety concerns: Infusion reactions (common) ; hypogammaglobulinaemia; reactivation of hepatitis B; progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy No increase incidence of TB/malignancy Mok CC. Drug Des Devel Ther 2014
Targeted synthetic DMARDs - Tofacitinib JAK kinase 1/3 inhibitor Inhibits the JAK-STAT intracellular signalling pathway, hence inhibiting gene transcription of inflammatory cytokines 5mg BD orally as monotherapy or with background DMARDs Shuai K et al. Nat Rev Immunol 2003 Jiang JK et al. J Med Chem 2008
Corticosteroids Bridging therapy and NOT monotherapy Oral, intramuscular and intra-articular administration Low dose: Prednisone < 10mg daily Early disease reduces radiographic progression by at least 50% Modified-released prednisone significantly reduces morning stiffness Santiago T et al. Acta Rheumatol Port 2015
TIght COntrol in Rheumatoid Arthritis (TICORA) study Grigor C,et al. Lancet 2004
In a local setting Tight Control Strategy (n=98) Historical Cohort (n=134) p-value Remission, n (%) 33 (33.7) 13 (10.4) <0.0001 LDA, n (%) 30 (30.6) 24 (17.9) 0.028 Patients lost to follow-up, n (%) 2(2.0) 35 (20.5) <0.0001 Hodkinson B et al. Rheumatology 2015
Instruments assessing RA disease activity variables for determining therapy Score Range Remission Low Moderate High DAS28 0-9.4 <2.6 2.6 to <3.2 3.2 to 5.1 >5.1 SDAI 0.1-86.0 3.3 >3.3 to 11 >11 to 26 >26 CDAI 0-76.0 2.8 >2.8 to 10 >10 to 22 >22 DAS28 = Disease Activity Score with 28 joint counts SDAI = Simplified Disease Activity Index CDAI = Clinical Disease Activity Index Anderson J et al. Arthritis Care Res 2012
SA Recommendations for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis Hodkinson B et al. S Afr Med J 2013
Drug-free Remission Drug-free remission is only achievable in a small minority of patients Risk of flares are 3x greater in those that have stopped DMARDs Best predictors of flares: IgM-RF and ACPA positivity Strong evidence: step-down DMARD combinations, wean dose or extend dosing intervals Smolen JS et al. Lancet 2013 Scott IC et al. Clin Exp Rheumatol 2013
Comorbidities in RA Cardiovascular disease (CVD): ischemic heart disease, subclinical atherosclerosis and heart failure Infections: increase risk of serious infections Mental health conditions: depression and anxiety Malignancies: increased incidence of lymphoproliferative malignancies Osteoporosis: increase fracture risk Michaud K et al. Best Pract Res Clin Rheumatol 2007 Dougados M et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2013
Take home messages Inadequately treated RA leads to significant functional disability and morbidity Early diagnosis Prompt initiation of DMARDs and escalation of therapy Tight control strategy (based on measurement of disease activity) Treat to target remission or LDA Drug- free remission still remains elusive Monitor and treat comorbidities
Thank you
Instruments assessing RA disease activity Disease activity score with 28 joint counts (DAS28) = 0.56 * sqrt(28tjc) + 0.28 * sqrt (28SJC) + 0.7 * ln(esr) + 0.014 * PtGA Simplified disease activity index (SDAI) = 28SJC + 28TJC + PrGA + PtGA + CRP Clinical disease activity index (CDAI) = 28SJC + 28 TJC +PrGA + PtGA TJC=Tender joint count; SJC=Swollen joint count; PrGA=Provider s global assessment of of disease activity; PtGA=Patient s global assessment of disease activity; Anderson J et al. Arthritis Care Res 2012
Remission Felson DT et al. Ann Rheum Dis 2011
Novel therapeutic targets Koenders MI et al. Trends Pharmacol Sci 2015