Methotrexate therapy and liver disease

Methotrexate following unsuccessful thiopurine therapy in pediatric Crohn's disease

BACKGROUND

The thiopurines, azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine, are traditional first-line immunomodulatory agents in adult and pediatric Crohn's disease, but the comparative efficacy and safety of methotrexate have seldom been examined. We report outcomes with methotrexate treatment in pediatric patients previously refractory to or intolerant of thiopurines.

METHODS

In a four-center, retrospective cohort study, efficacy of methotrexate in maintaining remission was assessed by PCDAI measurements, steroid use, and height velocity. Patients served as their own historical controls. Multivariable analysis controlled for route of methotrexate administration, reason for thiopurine discontinuation, baseline disease activity, and disease duration.

RESULTS

Forty-two percent of 60 children treated with methotrexate were in clinical remission without steroids at both 6 and 12 months. A strong steroid sparing effect was observed compared with the year prior to methotrexate (P<0.001). Success rates were similar in previously thiopurine-intolerant and refractory patients. Height velocity increased from -1.9 SDS to -0.14 SDS (P=0.004) in the year following therapy. In a median 3-yr follow-up, a third of the patients did not require escalation of therapy; the others required step-up therapy with infliximab or surgery. Eight children (13%) stopped methotrexate due to adverse events, including, most commonly, elevated liver enzymes, and one serious episode of sepsis.

CONCLUSION

Methotrexate appears effective in maintaining remission in pediatric Crohn's disease, when thiopurines have failed. Consideration should be given to its use earlier in pediatric treatment algorithms.

Cholangiocarcinoma, renal cell carcinoma and parathyroid adenoma found synchronously in a patient on long-term methotrexate

Cases of patients developing lymphoma and cutaneous neoplasms after long-term methotrexate therapy are well documented in the literature; however, there are no reported cases of other neoplasms resulting from methotrexate therapy. A 52-year-old woman who had been on methotrexate for 9 years for psoriatic arthritis was found to have abnormal liver function tests on screening. Investigation with ultrasound, CT scanning and MRCP showed a hilar cholangiocarcinoma and a synchronous right renal tumour. A left hemi-hepatectomy extended to segments 5 and 8 with the formation of a hepaticojejunostomy was performed for a poorly differentiated infiltrative hilar cholangiocarcinoma. This was combined with a right radical nephrectomy for a T1 renal cell adenocarcinoma. Postoperative vomiting was subsequently found to be due to hypercalcaemia and primary hyperparathyroidism. A parathyroid adenoma was later excised. It seems likely that treatment with methotrexate was causal in the development of these three non-cutaneous neoplasms-two malignant and one benign.

Methotrexate in Crohn's disease: long-term efficacy and toxicity

OBJECTIVE

A 16-wk, placebo-controlled trial has recently shown weekly low-dose methotrexate to be an effective treatment for patients with chronically active Crohn's disease. The long-term efficacy and safety of this antimetabolite drug, however, are not yet well established and are assessed in this study.

METHODS

A total of 49 patients with Crohn's disease who were treated with methotrexate for > or =6 months were studied. All patients had been chronically treated with steroids; but at the time of initiation, only 27 were still on steroids. Of the 49 patients, 42 had previously taken azathioprine but were no longer on this drug because of intolerance or failure. Clinical remission was defined as a Harvey-Bradshaw index of <4.

RESULTS

In all, 41 patients achieved complete clinical remission and were maintained on methotrexate for a median of 18 months (range, 7-59 months). In these patients the probabilities of relapse were 29%, 41%, and 48% at 1, 2, and 3 yr, respectively. A higher rate of relapse was observed in women and in patients with ileocolitis. Adverse reactions were recorded in 24 patients, requiring discontinuation of methotrexate in five. A liver biopsy was performed in 11 patients; a mild steatosis was found in five, a slight dilation of the sinusoids in one, a granulomatous hepatitis with a mild portal fibrosis in one, and a slight periportal fibrosis in one patient.

CONCLUSIONS

This study suggests a long-term benefit of maintenance treatment with methotrexate in patients with chronically active Crohn's disease, with side effects that are usually only moderate.

Toxicity Profile of Methotrexate in Rheumatoid Arthritis

A number of patients with rheumatoid arthritis attending the Rheumatology Clinic at St Luke's Hospital are currently receiving the drug methotrexate as a second line disease-modifying agent. A survey has been conducted to assess the toxicity profile of methotrexate in 33 of these patients who were followed up for at least 1 year or until they developed side effects necessitating discontinuation of treatment. Adverse effects in this group of patients included haematological ones (6%), asymptomatic elevations of liver enzymes (57%), gastrointestinal (6%) and dermatological side effects (3%). These results have been compared to larger studies performed abroad. Regular monitoring of a complete blood count and liver function tests has helped to detect the more serious side effects of methotrexate at an early stage enabling successful intervention in these patients.