Humoral and cellular monitoring to predict the development of infection in Crohn's disease patients beginning treatment with infliximab

Infectious pulmonary complications in patients treated with anti-TNF-alpha monoclonal antibodies and soluble TNF receptor

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha inhibitors (infliximab, adalimumab, and etanercept) used in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, or psoriatic arthritis have the potential to increase the risk of infectious complications. Pulmonary infections are one of the most frequent complications associated with the use of TNF inhibitors. This article provides an overview of the distinct types of infectious pulmonary complications seen in patients using these anticytokine drugs.

Risk of lymphoma associated with combination anti-tumor necrosis factor and immunomodulator therapy for the treatment of Crohn's disease: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND & AIMS

Although anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy can effectively treat Crohn's disease (CD), there is concern that it might increase the risk of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL). A meta-analysis was performed to determine the rate of NHL in adult CD patients who have received anti-TNF therapy and to compare this rate with that of a population-based registry and a population of CD patients treated with immunomodulators.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Collaboration, and Web of Science were searched. Inclusion criteria included randomized controlled trials, cohort studies, or case series reporting on anti-TNF therapy in adult CD patients. Standardized incidence ratios (SIR) were calculated by comparing the pooled rate of NHL with the expected rate of NHL derived from the Surveillance Epidemiology & End Results (SEER) database and a meta-analysis of CD patients treated with immunomodulators.

RESULTS

Twenty-six studies involving 8905 patients and 21,178 patient-years of follow-up were included. Among anti-TNF treated subjects, 13 cases of NHL were reported (6.1 per 10,000 patient-years). The majority of these patients had previous immunomodulator exposure. Compared with the expected rate of NHL in the SEER database (1.9 per 10,000 patient-years), anti-TNF treated subjects had a significantly elevated risk (SIR, 3.23; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-6.9). When compared with the NHL rate in CD patients treated with immunomodulators alone (4 per 10,000 patient-years), the SIR was 1.7 (95% confidence interval, 0.5-7.1).

CONCLUSIONS

The use of anti-TNF agents with immunomodulators is associated with an increased risk of NHL in adult CD patients, but the absolute rate of these events remains low and should be weighed against the substantial benefits associated with treatment.