Response to Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis Is Not Influenced by the Body Mass Index of the Patient

Abstract

Response to TCZ in patients with RA is not influenced by the baseline BMI, in contrast to anti-tumor necrosis factor drugs.

Body mass index and response to abatacept in rheumatoid arthritis

“…A negative association was found between BMI and response to anti‐TNFα therapies, notably infliximab, in RA , psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis , which suggests that fat mass may affect the response to biologic agents. Conversely, two recent studies showed that response to TCZ in patients with RA was not affected by baseline BMI . We focused on the relationship between BMI and response to ABA in RA treatment and found no association of increased BMI and low response to ABA.…”

Impact of Obesity on Remission and Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

“…Four studies reported the frequency of remission by BMI categories. Pers et al did not find a difference in the frequency of remission in obese (41%) compared to overweight (28%) or normal‐weight (46%) BMI categories , but remission was less frequent in obese patients in studies by Iannone et al (17% in obese versus 38% in normal‐weight patients) , Ellerby et al (3% in obese versus 13% in nonobese patients) , and Gremese et al (15% in obese versus 32% in nonobese patients) . Ottaviani et al did not find an association between increasing BMI and remission .…”

“…Ottaviani et al did not find an association between increasing BMI and remission . Four studies reported the OR for obese subjects achieving remission after adjusting for important confounders . In the meta‐analysis, obese patients demonstrated lower odds of achieving remission when combining estimates from studies comparing to either normal‐weight or nonobese (including normal‐weight and overweight) BMI categories (pooled adjusted OR 0.57 [95% confidence interval (95% CI) 0.45, 0.72]; P heterogeneity = 0.59, I 2 = 0%) (Figure ).…”

The Obesity Epidemic and Consequences for Rheumatoid Arthritis Care

“…Notable among these studies is an analysis of the BeST trial, showing lower response rates to initial treatment in patients with BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 [30•], and a large Swedish study of DMARD-naïve patients, most treated with methotrexate, in which patients with obesity were significantly less likely to achieve low disease activity at 3 and 6 months [31••]. While small studies have shown no differences in response rates to rituximab or tocilizumab, larger studies are needed to verify these results [35, 36]. At this time, there is no sufficient evidence to suggest that obesity is associated with poor response to a specific class of medications or to support individualizing treatment decisions based on BMI.…”