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Comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of tocilizumab, sarilumab, and sirukumab in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: a Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Clinical Rheumatology volume 37, pages 1471–1479 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

The relative efficacy and tolerability of tocilizumab, sarilumab, and sirukumab were assessed in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and an inadequate response to methotrexate (MTX) or tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. We performed a Bayesian network meta-analysis to combine direct and indirect evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to examine the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab, sarilumab, and sirukumab in RA patients and an inadequate MTX or TNF inhibitor response. Fourteen RCTs, comprising 9753 patients, met the inclusion criteria. Tocilizumab 8 mg combined with MTX or as monotherapy was the most effective treatment for active RA with an inadequate MTX or TNF antagonist response, followed by sarilumab and sirukumab, regardless of MTX combination. The ranking probability based on the surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA) indicated that tocilizumab 8 mg + MTX had the highest probability of being the best treatment to achieve the ACR50 response rate, followed by tocilizumab 8 mg, sarilumab 200 mg, sarilumab 200 mg + MTX, sirukumab 100 mg, tocilizumab 4 mg + MTX, sirukumab 100 mg + MTX, sirukumab 50 mg + MTX, sarilumab 150 mg + MTX, adalimumab 40 mg, and sirukumab 50 mg, and placebo + MTX. No significant differences were observed in withdrawals owing to adverse events after treatment with tocilizumab 8 mg + MTX, sirukumab 100 mg + MTX, or sarilumab 200 mg + MTX. In RA patients with an inadequate MTX or anti-TNF therapy response, tocilizumab 8 mg as monotherapy and combined with MTX showed acceptable tolerability and the highest performance based on the ACR50 response rate, followed by sarilumab and sirukumab.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported in part by a grant of the Korea Healthcare Technology R&D Project, Ministry for Health and Welfare, Republic of Korea (HI15C2958).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Seoul, South Korea

    Sang-Cheol Bae

  2. Department of Rheumatology, Korea University College of Medicine, 73, Inchon-ro, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul, 02841, South Korea

    Young Ho Lee

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Bae, SC., Lee, Y.H. Comparison of the efficacy and tolerability of tocilizumab, sarilumab, and sirukumab in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis: a Bayesian network meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Clin Rheumatol 37, 1471–1479 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-018-4006-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10067-018-4006-5

Keywords

  • IL-6, biologics
  • Network meta-analysis
  • Rheumatoid arthritis