Adalimumab treatment of anti-TNF-naïve patients with ulcerative colitis: Deep remission and response factors

Dynamic changes in the gut microbiota composition during adalimumab therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis: implications for treatment response prediction and therapeutic targets

BACKGROUND

While significant research exists on gut microbiota changes after anti-tumor necrosis factor-alpha (anti TNF-α) therapy for ulcerative colitis, little is known about the longitudinal changes related to the effects of anti TNF-α. This study aimed to investigate the dynamics of gut microbiome changes during anti TNF-α (adalimumab) therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

RESULTS

The microbiota composition was affected by the disease severity and extent in patients with UC. Regardless of clinical remission status at each time point, patients with UC exhibited microbial community distinctions from healthy controls. Distinct amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) differences were identified throughout the course of Adalimumab (ADA) treatment at each time point. A notable reduction in gut microbiome dissimilarity was observed only in remitters. Remitters demonstrated a decrease in the relative abundances of Burkholderia-Caballeronia-Paraburkholderia and Staphylococcus as the treatment progressed. Additionally, there was an observed increase in the relative abundances of Bifidobacterium and Dorea. Given the distribution of the 48 ASVs with high or low relative abundances in the pre-treatment samples according to clinical remission at week 8, a clinical remission at week 8 with a sensitivity and specificity of 72.4% and 84.3%, respectively, was predicted on the receiver operating characteristic curve (area under the curve, 0.851).

CONCLUSIONS

The gut microbiota undergoes diverse changes according to the treatment response during ADA treatment. These changes provide insights into predicting treatment responses to ADA and offer new therapeutic targets for UC.

The Efficacy of Currently Licensed Biologics for Treatment of Ulcerative Colitis: A Literature Review

Biologics have been emerging as promising therapies in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients who are refractory to conventional medical treatment. This literature review aims to appraise the existing evidence on the efficacy and safety of NICE approved biological therapies, of which there are currently five licensed drugs, available for the treatment of UC in adults. An initial search was performed using National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines. A further literature search of EMBASE, MEDLINE, Science Direct and Cochrane Library databases was done, resulting in a total of 62 studies being included in this review. Recent and seminal papers were included. Inclusion criteria for this review were adult participants and English papers only. In most studies, anti-tumour necrosis factor ɑ (TNFɑ) naïve patients were found to have improved clinical outcomes. Infliximab was found to be highly effective in inducing short-term clinical response, clinical remission as well as mucosal healing. However, loss of response was common and dose escalation was often required for achievement of long-term efficacy. Adalimumab was found to have both short-term and long-term efficacy which was also supported by real-world data. Golimumab was shown to have comparable efficacy and safety profiles to other biologics, although lack of therapeutic dose monitoring and loss of response is a barrier to optimising golimumab treatment efficacy. Vedolizumab was shown to have higher clinical remission rates when compared to adalimumab in a head-to-head trial, and the most cost-effective biologic when calculating quality-adjusted life years. Ustekinumab was found to significantly improve clinical remission rates in UC patients who were previously unresponsive to other biological treatments. However, as this is a newly licensed drug, there is limited literature currently available. Further, head-to-head studies are required to help determine the optimal treatment for patients with UC. With patents expiring, the development of biosimilars will help to reduce costs and increase the availability of these drugs to patients.

Lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio is a short-term predictive marker of ulcerative colitis after induction of advanced therapy

Advanced therapies for patients with mild-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) may result in treatment failure. We examined whether the lymphocyte-to-monocyte ratio (L/M ratio) could predict the failure of advanced therapies. This retrospective, observational, cohort study included 73 patients who were treated with advanced therapies at the Hamamatsu University School of Medicine (Shizuoka, Japan) between February 2011 and November 2020. The patients were divided into the non-failure and failure groups, and their leukocyte counts and ratios before induction were examined. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to identify the prognostic factors. Advanced therapies failed within 3 months in 15 (20.5%) patients. Only the L/M ratio was significantly lower in the failure group than in the non-failure group (P = 0.004). Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that an L/M ratio of ≤3.417 was predictive of treatment failure; the area under the curve (AUC) was 0.747 (95% CI, 0.620–0.874). Kaplan–Meier analysis revealed that the failure-free rate was significantly lower in the group with an L/M ratio of ≤3.417 than in the group with an L/M ratio of >3.417 (log-rank test P = 0.002). Cox proportional hazard regression analysis identified an L/M ratio of ≤3.417 as an independent risk factor for failure within 3 months after the induction of advanced therapies. Furthermore, ROC analysis of patients who did not receive immunomodulators also revealed that the cut-off L/M ratio was 3.417 and the AUC was 0.796 (95% CI, 0.666–0.925). In patients receiving advanced therapies for active UC, the L/M ratio can predict treatment failure within 3 months. L/M ratios could facilitate the transition from advanced therapies to subsequent treatments.

Systematic review and meta-analysis: real-world data rates of deep remission with anti-TNFα in inflammatory bowel disease

BACKGROUND

Deep remission (DR) is a treatment target in IBD associated with reduced hospitalization and improved outcome. Randomized control trial (RCT) data demonstrates efficacy of anti-TNFα agents in achieving DR; however, real-world data (RWD) can provide information complementary to RCTs, specifically regarding treatment duration. In this systematic review with meta-analysis, we use real-world data (RWD) to determine rates of DR in IBD treated with anti-TNFα.

METHODS

We completed a systematic search of MEDLINE and EMBASE on July 8, 2019 with review of major gastrointestinal conference abstracts from 2012 to 2019. Studies utilizing RWD (data not from phase I-III RCTs) of adult IBD patients treated with anti-TNFα agents were included. DR was defined by clinical and endoscopic remission at minimum. DR was assessed at 8 weeks, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years. Risk of bias was assessed with the Newcastle Ottawa Scale.

RESULTS

29,033 publications were identified. Fifteen publications, nine manuscripts and six conference abstracts, were included encompassing 1212 patients (769 Crohn's disease-CD, 443 ulcerative colitis-UC), and analyzed using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis. Rate of DR was 36.4% (95% CI 12.6-69.4%) at 8 weeks, 39.1% (95% CI 10.4-78%) at 6 months, 44.4% (95% CI 34.6-54.6%) at 1 year, and 36% (95% CI 18.7-58%) at 2 years. DR in CD at 1 year was 48.6% (95% CI 32.8-64.7%) and in UC was 43.6% (95% CI 32.8-55.1%).

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of DR was highest after 1 year of therapy, in nearly 45% of IBD patients treated with anti-TNFα. Similar rates were achieved between patients with UC and CD. The findings highlight the efficacy of anti-TNFα in real-world setting. Future studies using RWD can determine efficacy of newer IBD therapeutics in routine clinical practice.

Clinical outcomes and predictors of response for adalimumab in patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis: a KASID prospective multicenter cohort study

Background/Aims

This study assessed the efficacy and safety of adalimumab (ADA) and explored predictors of response in Korean patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).

Methods

A prospective, observational, multicenter study was conducted over 56 weeks in adult patients with moderately to severely active UC who received ADA. Clinical response, remission, and mucosal healing were assessed using the Mayo score.

Results

A total of 146 patients were enrolled from 17 academic hospitals. Clinical response rates were 52.1% and 37.7% and clinical remission rates were 24.0% and 22.0% at weeks 8 and 56, respectively. Mucosal healing rates were 39.0% and 30.1% at weeks 8 and 56, respectively. Prior use of anti-tumor necrosis factor-α (anti-TNF-α) did not affect clinical and endoscopic responses. The ADA drug level was significantly higher in patients with better outcomes at week 8 (P<0.05). In patients with lower endoscopic activity, higher body mass index, and higher serum albumin levels at baseline, the clinical response rate was higher at week 8. In patients with lower Mayo scores and C-reactive protein levels, clinical responses, and mucosal healing at week 8, the clinical response rate was higher at week 56. Serious adverse drug reactions were identified in 2.8% of patients.

Conclusions

ADA is effective and safe for induction and maintenance in Korean patients with UC, regardless of prior anti-TNF-α therapy. The ADA drug level is associated with the efficacy of induction therapy. Patients with better short-term outcomes were predictive of those with an improved long-term response.

Fecal Calprotectin Predicts Mucosal Healing in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis Treated With Biological Therapies: A Prospective Study

Biological therapies are widely used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis. However, only a low proportion of patients achieve clinical remission and even less mucosal healing. There is currently scarce knowledge about the early markers of therapeutic response, with particular regard to mucosal healing. The aim of this prospective study was to evaluate the role of fecal calprotectin (FC) as early predictor of mucosal healing.

Predicting a rapid response to adalimumab treatment and favorable short-term outcomes through the high platelet count in patients with ulcerative colitis: A multicenter retrospective cohort study

This study aimed to investigate the short-term effectiveness of adalimumab therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), especially its rapid response.This retrospective, multicenter, cohort study involved 7 institutes in Japan, compiling data from patients with UC who had received at least 1 induction dose of 160 mg of adalimumab between June 2013 and May 2017. Patients should have a Lichtiger clinical activity index score of ≥5 at the initial adalimumab administration. Remission was defined as clinical activity index score of ≤4, whereas response was defined as a reduction of ≥50% from the baseline value. Rapid responders are defined as patients who achieved response at 2 weeks.A total of 91 patients were included in this study: 37.4% and 45.1% achieved clinical response at 2 and 8 weeks, respectively, whereas clinical remission rates 12 weeks were 45.1%. Among the rapid responders, 82.4% achieved clinical remission at 12 weeks. Multivariate logistic regression analysis identified a higher platelet count as an independent prognostic factor for a higher rate of rapid response. Receiver operating characteristic curve showed that a platelet counts cutoff value of ≥312 × 10/L was associated with a rapid response.Approximately 40% of patients with UC showed a rapid response to adalimumab therapy after 2 weeks. Up to 80% of the rapid responders also achieved remission at 12 weeks. A higher platelet count was identified as an independent prognostic factor for a higher rapid response rate.

Retrospective investigation of tacrolimus combined with an anti‐tumor necrosis factorα antibody as remission induction therapy for refractory ulcerative colitis: Efficacy, safety, and relapse rate

Background and Aim

Combined therapy with tacrolimus (TAC) and an anti‐tumor necrosis factorα (TNFα) antibody is used to induce remission in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients who have not responded to monotherapy with either drug. We evaluated the efficacy and safety of combined therapy, as well as the relapse rate.

Methods

Combined therapy was performed to induce remission in UC patients showing an inadequate response to monotherapy with TAC or an anti‐TNFα antibody. The following items were assessed retrospectively: (i) clinical characteristics, (ii) the remission induction rate, (iii) the relapse rate, and (iv) adverse events.

Results

Combined therapy induced remission in 7 of the 12 patients (58.3%). There were no significant differences in clinical characteristics between the patients with and without the successful induction of remission. However, the number of female patients tended to be higher in the remission group than in the nonremission group. The remission group also showed trends of a lower clinical activity index (Lichtiger index; CAI) on admission and before combined therapy and a lower total dose of prednisolone during hospitalization. The 1‐year relapse rate was 33.3%. Adverse events due to combined therapy included renal impairment (n = 2), tremors (n = 2), influenza (n = 1), and a positive cytomegalovirus antibody test (n = 3). None of these events were serious.

Conclusions

Combined therapy was effective in more than half of the patients with refractory UC who had not responded to monotherapy. Our findings suggest that combination therapy may be a new, third option for the treatment of refractory UC.