More than half of patients had sustained remission after induction with golimumab.
Patients with very early peripheral spondyloarthritis (SpA) who underwent induction treatment with golimumab (Simponi) had high rates of sustained clinical remission, and more than half were able to achieve drug-free remission, a pilot study found.
In a cohort of 60 patients whose mean symptom duration was approximately 5 weeks, 82% achieved sustained clinical remission, with most reaching this goal by week 24, according to Filip Van den Bosch, MD, PhD, and colleagues from Ghent University in Belgium.
And with at least 18 months of follow-up after stopping the golimumab, 53% remained in drug-free remission, they reported in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Peripheral SpA is a subtype of spondyloarthritis that includes psoriatic arthritis and non-psoriatic peripheral SpA and is characterized by arthritis, dactylitis, and enthesitis. Therapeutic options in the past were limited, but biologic therapies have dramatically improved outcomes. The tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors have shown efficacy across the entire spectrum of SpA, including ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis.
In addition, in previous studies of axial and nonradiographic SpA, better efficacy has been seen when treatment is introduced early rather than when the disease is established, and ongoing trials are exploring the possibility of treatment withdrawal in axial SpA once remission is achieved. Evidence has been growing in support of an early "window of opportunity" for optimal treatment outcomes in various other inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.