Etanercept Trial Supports Use for JIA, ERA and PsA

Etanercept is a safe, well-tolerated medication for treating pediatric patients with extended oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, enthesitis-related arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis, a new study shows.  (©AdobeStock_StockDevil)

Etanercept is a safe, well-tolerated medication for treating pediatric patients with extended oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, enthesitis-related arthritis, and psoriatic arthritis, according to the results for a new study.

In an article published in a recent Arthritis Research & Therapy issue, investigators revealed the interim results of an ongoing eight-year, open-label safety and efficacy study in which participants with these conditions received weekly etanercept doses. This study is an extension of a previous two-year trial.

“The study shows that treatment with etanercept is effective, with acceptable safety and tolerability,” said study author Nicolino Ruperto, M.D., Ph.D., a pediatric rheumatologist with Institute Giannina Gaslini in Italy. “Disease activity measures and patient-reported outcomes were relatively stable from the previously reported results…suggesting a long-term maintenance of clinical benefits.”

To determine safety and efficacy, investigators evaluated outcomes for 109 patients who continued participation into the second study. After four years, the enthesitis-related arthritis patients maintained their improvements in back pain and nocturnal back pain, and the psoriatic arthritis patients also saw sustained body surface area improvements. Additionally, 61 percent of participants with juvenile idiopathic arthritis achieved 70 percent improvement during the same time period, and 27 percent and 24 percent, respectively, achieved remission by American College of Rheumatology and Juvenile Arthritis Disease Activity Score criteria.

The most common treatment-emergent adverse events, not including infections and injection-site reactions, were headache, joint pain, fever, diarrhea, and low white blood cell count. When infections did occur, they were more frequent in patients with extended oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis than those with enthesitis-related arthritis or psoriatic arthritis. Upper respiratory tract, pharyngitis, gastroenteritis, and bronchitis were the most common.

Overall, researchers concluded, open-label etanercept treatment in these patients was safe, effective, and well-tolerated for up to six years without the development of any new safety issues.

FOR MORE NEWS COVERAGE ON ETANERCEPT

• Etanercept Biosimilar Approved for RA and Other Conditions
• Biosimilars Report: Switching to Etanercept Biosimilar Doesn't Compromise Safety or Efficacy
• Biosimilars Report: 52-Week Long Study Results Support Etanercept Biosimilar
• FDA Approves Biosimilar to Etanercept
• PsA Patients Sticking to Etanercept Therapy
• Etanercept Again Found Safest TNF Inhibitor for RA
• Etanercept-MTX Combo Slightly Better in RA than Etanercept Alone
• How to Use Etanercept for RA

REFERENCE

Foeldvari I, Constantin T, Vojinovic J, et al. "Etanercept treatment for extended oligoarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis, enthesitis-related arthritis, or psoriatic arthritis: 6-year efficacy and safety data from an open-label trial." Arthritis Research & Therapy. May 23, 2019. DOI: 10.1186/s13075-019-1916-9.