Nathan den Broeder, MSs: Finding the Right Dose of Rituximab for Rheumatoid Arthritis

Nathan Broeder, MSs, PhD candidate, Department of Rheumatology, Sint Maartenskliniek, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboudumc, presented the findings of his study at the American College of Rheumatology 2021 Convergence.

He examined the outcomes of taking rituximab, a disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD) at different dosage levels for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The study is titled "Long-term Effectiveness of Ultra-Low Doses of Rituximab in Rheumatoid Arthritis"

The results showed that 70% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis can use a lower dose than the 1000mg that's currently used in practice.

For this study, 118 out of 142 REDO trial patients were included. According to den Broeder, the aim of the REDO trial was to show that lower doses of rituximab were not inferior compare to 1000mg.

In the REDO trial, the results were very similar to the final results but investigators needed to extend the study because statistically it just wasn't there.

In the extension study, the aim was to show that if the doctor and the patient both determine what dose is best for the patient based on disease activity, then 2 things can happen, many patients can actually use a much lower dose, and patients can maintain a low disease activity, according to den Broeder.

Finding the optimal dose of rituximab for a patient can be a challenge because it can be different between patients, den Broeder said, but it can also be different in the same patient at different times.