A comparison of safety profiles of tumour necrosis factor {alpha} inhibitors and rituximab therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic hepatitis C

2015-02-05T08:53:53-08:00

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is prevalent worldwide and is associated with cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. Although antitumour necrosis factor (anti-TNF) α agents may affect the competence of the immune system against viral infection,1 some studies have demonstrated that TNF-α inhibitors may be safe in patients with chronic HCV infection.2 3 A recent randomised clinical trial showed that rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients with chronic HCV were treated successfully with etanercept without elevation of transaminases and HCV viral load.4 However, rituximab (RTX) is associated with increasing HCV RNA levels in lymphoma patients undergoing RTX combined with chemotherapy.5 6 RTX-related HCV reactivation was also observed in RA patients.7 Therefore, biological therapies of different mechanism of action may influence on HCV replication differently. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a retrospective safety profile review of RA patients with...

Effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and renal insufficiency: a real-life registry study in Japan (the ACTRA-RI study)

Mori, S., Yoshitama, T., Hidaka, T., Hirakata, N., Ueki, Y. — 2015-02-05T08:53:53-08:00

Renal involvement is frequently present in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Approximately 15–25% of patients with RA have renal insufficiency, defined as a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) <60 mL/min.1 Although concomitant use of methotrexate (MTX) has been proven to be more effective than administration of biological agents alone,2 MTX elimination is delayed in patients with renal insufficiency, which can increase the risk of adverse events.3 4 Therefore we often use MTX at reduced dosage for these patients in daily practice, which may result in inadequate responses.

The ACTRA-RI (Actemra for RA patients with renal insufficiency) study was designed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) therapy in the real-life registry of patients with RA and renal insufficiency. For this study, we registered all patients with RA who had begun TCZ therapy in participating hospitals as of January 2014 (total 405...

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases Letters

A comparison of safety profiles of tumour necrosis factor {alpha} inhibitors and rituximab therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and chronic hepatitis C

Effectiveness and safety of tocilizumab therapy for patients with rheumatoid arthritis and renal insufficiency: a real-life registry study in Japan (the ACTRA-RI study)