Efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in patients with Takayasu arteritis / 中华内科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To assess the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab and cyclophosphamide in patients with Takayasu arteritis (TA).Methods Twenty-seven TA patients treated with tocilizumab (TCZ group) and 22 treated with cyclophosphamide (CTX group) were enrolled and retrospectively analyzed.The duration of treatment was 6 months.Disease activity and side effects were compared between the two groups.Results After treatment,the median C-reactive protein (CRP),erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and disease activity scores in TCZ group were significantly lower than those in CTX group respectively [ESR 3 mm/1h vs.8 mm/1h;CRP 0.13 mg/L vs.1.09 mg/L;National Institutes of Health (NIH) score 0(0,1) vs.0(1,1);the Indian Takayasu clinical activity score (ITAS 2010) 0(0,2) vs.2(0,3.5),and the Indian Takayasu activity score with the acute phase response (ITAS-A) 0(0,2) vs.2.5(0,3.5);all P＜0.05].The daily prednisone doses before treatment and after treatment in TCZ group were significantly lower than those in CTX group [(20.1 ± 15.9) mg/d vs.(39.3 ± 16.7) mg/d;(5.1 ±4.2)mg/d vs.(12.1 ±4.6) mg/d,both P＜0.05)].The incidence of drug-related side effects in TCZ group was significantly lower than that in CTX group,which was 22.2％ vs.54.5％ (P＜0.05).Conclusion Compared with CTX treatment,TCZ treatment for TA with less prednisone has better efficacy and safety.