Etanercept Effective in Re-Treatment of Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: Study

Key findings of the study were:

• Upon analysis, the researchers observed similar rates of discontinuation due to ineffectiveness and adverse events in the first (19.4% and 6.2%), second (18.6% and 5.9%), and third (14.8% and 5.6%) ETA course.
• They noted that overall, 332 patients (+/−methotrexate, 19.3%) discontinued ETA after achieving remission with the first ETA course.
• They found that younger age, persistent oligoarthritis, shorter duration between JIA onset and etanercept start, and a good response to therapy within the first 6 months significantly correlated to discontinuation with inactive disease.
• They observed reoccurrence of active disease in 77% of patients with a mean time to flare of 12.1 months. However, they could not identify any factor correlating to flare risk.
• They noted that the majority of patients after flare were re-treated with ETA (n = 117 of 161).
• Among 117 patients, they noted that 23 patients (one in five patients) discontinued the drug again after achieving an inactive disease, while about 70% achieved an inactive disease 12months after restarting etanercept.

The authors concluded, "The study confirms the effectiveness of ETA even for re-treatment of patients with JIA. Our data highlight the association of an early bDMARD treatment with a higher rate of inactive disease indicating a window of opportunity."

For further information:

https://arthritis-research.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13075-021-02492-0