Filling Bone Erosions: a Longitudinal Multicentric HR-pQCT Study of Subcutaneous Tocilizumab in Rheumatoid Arthritis

Summary

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease mediated by the production of several cytokines, which leads to the destruction of bone and cartilage tissue in multiple joints and to bone loss. Conventional radiographs (CR) are considered as the gold standard for diagnosis and follow up of joint changes in RA. But this method has low sensitivity to detect early erosive changes and is unable to evaluate periarticular bone loss. High Resolution peripheral QCT (HRpQCT) enables the detection of erosions less than 0.5 mm in width or depth at metacarpo-phalangeal (MCP) joints. Using 3-D high resolution analysis of cortical bone erosions, this one is also able to evaluate the volumes of erosion and the evolution under treatments IL6 (6- interleukin) plays a major role in inflammatory process and bone damages related to RA. Tocilizumab (TCZ) is a humanized anti-IL-6R monoclonal antibody, developed and investigated in several clinical trials in RA. This biotherapy, in association with methotrexate (MTX) or given in monotherapy, is efficient in RA with inadequate response to MTX or anti-TNF b (tumor necrosis factor). TCZ reduces dramatically systemic inflammation, structural progression and improves clinical symptoms and quality of life. Tocilizumab may help reducing bone erosions, periarticular osteopenia and systemic bone loss.

Timeline

Start

2016-06-30

Primary completion

2025-04-03

Completion

2025-04-03

Publications

• Background Boutroy S, Bouxsein ML, Munoz F, Delmas PD. In vivo assessment of trabecular bone microarchitecture by high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography. J Clin Endocrinol Metab. 2005 Dec;90(12):6508-15. doi: 10.1210/jc.2005-1258. Epub 2005 Sep 27.
• Background Stach CM, Bauerle M, Englbrecht M, Kronke G, Engelke K, Manger B, Schett G. Periarticular bone structure in rheumatoid arthritis patients and healthy individuals assessed by high-resolution computed tomography. Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Feb;62(2):330-9. doi: 10.1002/art.27252.
• Background Fouque-Aubert A, Boutroy S, Marotte H, Vilayphiou N, Bacchetta J, Miossec P, Delmas PD, Chapurlat RD. Assessment of hand bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis by high-resolution peripheral quantitative CT. Ann Rheum Dis. 2010 Sep;69(9):1671-6. doi: 10.1136/ard.2009.114512. Epub 2010 Jun 4.
• Background Ellouz R, Chapurlat R, van Rietbergen B, Christen P, Pialat JB, Boutroy S. Challenges in longitudinal measurements with HR-pQCT: evaluation of a 3D registration method to improve bone microarchitecture and strength measurement reproducibility. Bone. 2014 Jun;63:147-57. doi: 10.1016/j.bone.2014.03.001. Epub 2014 Mar 12.
• Background Moller Dohn U, Boonen A, Hetland ML, Hansen MS, Knudsen LS, Hansen A, Madsen OR, Hasselquist M, Moller JM, Ostergaard M. Erosive progression is minimal, but erosion healing rare, in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with adalimumab. A 1 year investigator-initiated follow-up study using high-resolution computed tomography as the primary outcome measure. Ann Rheum Dis. 2009 Oct;68(10):1585-90. doi: 10.1136/ard.2008.097048. Epub 2008 Nov 19.
• Background Finzel S, Rech J, Schmidt S, Engelke K, Englbrecht M, Stach C, Schett G. Repair of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis treated with tumour necrosis factor inhibitors is based on bone apposition at the base of the erosion. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Sep;70(9):1587-93. doi: 10.1136/ard.2010.148395. Epub 2011 May 27.
• Background Dohn UM, Ostergaard M, Bird P, Boonen A, Johansen JS, Moller JM, Hansen MS. Tendency towards erosive regression on magnetic resonance imaging at 12 months in rheumatoid arthritis patients treated with rituximab. Ann Rheum Dis. 2009 Jun;68(6):1072-3. doi: 10.1136/ard.2008.098962. No abstract available.
• Background Dohn UM, Ejbjerg B, Boonen A, Hetland ML, Hansen MS, Knudsen LS, Hansen A, Madsen OR, Hasselquist M, Moller JM, Ostergaard M. No overall progression and occasional repair of erosions despite persistent inflammation in adalimumab-treated rheumatoid arthritis patients: results from a longitudinal comparative MRI, ultrasonography, CT and radiography study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2011 Feb;70(2):252-8. doi: 10.1136/ard.2009.123729. Epub 2010 Oct 26.
• Background Finzel S, Rech J, Schmidt S, Engelke K, Englbrecht M, Schett G. Interleukin-6 receptor blockade induces limited repair of bone erosions in rheumatoid arthritis: a micro CT study. Ann Rheum Dis. 2013 Mar;72(3):396-400. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2011-201075. Epub 2012 May 14.
• Background Garnero P, Thompson E, Woodworth T, Smolen JS. Rapid and sustained improvement in bone and cartilage turnover markers with the anti-interleukin-6 receptor inhibitor tocilizumab plus methotrexate in rheumatoid arthritis patients with an inadequate response to methotrexate: results from a substudy of the multicenter double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of tocilizumab in inadequate responders to methotrexate alone. Arthritis Rheum. 2010 Jan;62(1):33-43. doi: 10.1002/art.25053.

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