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Efficacy and retention rate of adalimumab in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis patients after first-line etanercept failure: the FEARLESS cohort

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Abstract

Few studies have compared the efficacy of switching from etanercept to adalimumab in the real-life setting in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This study evaluated the 2-year retention rate and 12-month efficacy of adalimumab in RA and PsA patients, previously treated with etanercept. RA and PsA patients from 11 Italian Rheumatology Units received adalimumab after first-line etanercept failure. Two-year adalimumab retention rate was calculated by the Kaplan–Meier method and Cox proportional hazard models were developed to examine predictors of drug persistence. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were developed to examine potential predictors of 12-month DAS-28 remission. The study population included 117 RA (disease duration of 10.1 ± 7.7 years and baseline DAS28-ESR of 4.97 ± 1.3) and 102 PsA (disease duration of 7.1 ± 5.1 years and baseline DAPSA of 24.6 ± 11.8). The 2-year retention rate was 48.2% in RA and 56.5% in PsA patients. Concomitant methotrexate treatment was not associated with increased drug survival in both groups. Similarly, cause of etanercept discontinuation or treatment duration was not associated with retention rate. 12-month remission and low disease activity were achieved, respectively, in 27.3% and 23.9% of RA patients and 27.4% and 23.5% PsA of patients. In multivariate models, etanercept discontinuation due to inefficacy (OR 0.27, 95% CI 1.03–0.73; p = 0.009) and baseline DAS-28 (OR 0.45, 95% CI 0.29–0.69; p < 0.001) remained significant negative predictors of remission in RA patients. No variable was associated with remission in PsA patients. Adalimumab after etanercept failure was highly effective and safe in both RA and PsA patients.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Rheumatology, ASST Gaetano Pini-CTO, Via Gaetano Pini 9, 20122, Milan, Italy

    Ennio G. Favalli & Andrea Becciolini

  2. Rheumatology Unit, AOUI, Verona, Italy

    Antonio Carletto & Ilaria Piazza

  3. Dipartimento di Medicina Interna e Specialità Mediche, Reumatologia, Sapienza Università di Roma, Rome, Italy

    Fabrizio Conti & Fulvia Ceccarelli

  4. Rheumatology Unit, A.O.U. Policlinico Vittorio Emanuele, Catania, Italy

    Giorgio Amato & Rosario Foti

  5. Rheumatology Unit, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria Città della Salute e della Scienza, Turin, Italy

    Enrico Fusaro & Simone Parisi

  6. Clinica di Reumatologia, Dipartimento di Area Medica, ASUIUD, Udine, Italy

    Luca Quartuccio

  7. CE Medical Writing, Pisa, Italy

    Colin Gerard Egan

  8. UOC di Reumatologia, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Sant’Anna Cona-Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy

    Andrea Lo Monaco

  9. SOS Reumatologia, Ospedale S. Giovanni di Dio, Florence, Italy

    Maurizio Benucci

  10. Clinica Reumatologica, Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy

    Fausto Salaffi

  11. U.O.Reumatologia, ASL Taranto-PP.OO.SS. Annunziata Taranto e Valle d’Itria, Taranto, Italy

    Angelo Semeraro

Authors
  1. Ennio G. Favalli
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  2. Andrea Becciolini
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  3. Antonio Carletto
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  4. Fabrizio Conti
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Contributions

Study concept and design: EGF, AB; data acquisition; EGF, AB, AC, FC, GA, EF, LQ, CGE, ALM, MB, FS, AS, SP, FC, IP, RF; analysis: EGF, AB, CGE; writing: EGF, CGE; interpretation of results; EGF, AB. All authors were involved in drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content. All authors approved the final version to be submitted for publication.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ennio G. Favalli.

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Ethics approval

Ethics committee approval on 15/05/2008 from Gaetano Pini Institute, Milan, Italy (protocol no. 63/08) and written informed consent for the anonymous use of personal data were obtained from every patient, in compliance with Legislative Decree 196/2003. This study complies with the ethical standards laid down in the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki.

Conflict of interest

EGF served as a consultant and/or speaker for BMS, Lilly, Celgene, MSD, UCB, Pfizer, Sanofi-Genzyme, Novartis, and AbbVie. AB served as a speaker for Sanofi-Genzyme, UCB, and AbbVie. AC served as a consultant and/or speaker for BMS, Lilly, Celgene, MSD, Janssen, Roche, Sanofi, Sandoz and Novartis. FaC served as a consultant and/or speaker for BMS, Lilly, Celgene, Pfizer, and AbbVie. LQ served as a consultant and/or speaker for Celgene, Roche, Lilly, AbbVie, and Pfizer. ALM served as a consultant for Sanofi and Roche. MB served as a consultant and/or speaker for BMS, Lilly, Roche, Novartis, Janssen. FS served as a consultant and/or speaker for BMS, MSD, Pfizer, Novartis, and AbbVie. AS served as speaker for BMS, AbbVie, MSD, UCB, Novartis, Sanofi. SP served as consultant and/or speaker for AbbVie, Biogen, BMS, Celgene, Janssen, Lilly, Novartis and UCB. RF served as a consultant and/or speaker for BMS, Lilly, Celgene, MSD, UCB, Pfizer, Janssen, Novartis, and AbbVie. EF, FuC, CGE and IP declared no conflict of interest.

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Favalli, E.G., Becciolini, A., Carletto, A. et al. Efficacy and retention rate of adalimumab in rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis patients after first-line etanercept failure: the FEARLESS cohort. Rheumatol Int 40, 263–272 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00296-019-04416-3

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