This proposal will evaluate if musculoskeletal ultrasound (MSUS) measures or multi-biomarker disease activity (MBDA) improve in patients treated with tofacitinib over 3 months, and whether early MSUS measures/MBDA can predict response to therapy.
This is a pilot open-label trial of 25 RA patients treated with tofacitinib over 3 months. The patients meeting inclusion criteria will be started on tofacitinib 5mg po bid. Patients will be recruited from the UCLA Rheumatology Clinics. Inclusion criteria will include the following: meeting ACR 1987 RA criteria, DAS28≥3.2, age≥18, and PDUS\>10 (see below for more details). Patients who are deemed unsafe to enroll will be excluded. Ultrasound measures (PDUS/GSUS) and MBDA scores will be obtained at screen, baseline, 2 weeks, and 3 months. In addition, we will also obtain HAQ-DI, CDAI, and DAS28 at the same time points. In addition, we will have a 6 week visit for capturing adverse events, concomitant drugs, drug dispensation, and evaluation of adherence. Currently, there are several US measures to evaluate therapeutic response in RA patients that have been used in the literature. Some US studies evaluate all joints involved in RA, which is time consuming. At present, there is no consensus as to the ideal ultrasound scoring system. However, we will utilize a 34-joint US scoring system to evaluate response to therapy in this proposal (see Table 1). Our research team has expertise in MSUS (given several workshops/lectures nationally) and we have proficiency in designing/conducting MSUS clinical trials. We currently have 4 ultrasonography-rheumatologists at UCLA who are ACR certified in MSUS.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
37
UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology
Los Angeles, California, United States
PDUS
30 joints will be evaluated using a 0 to 3 point scale for each joint and the sum of these represents PDUS. The Power Doppler Synovitis Score (PDUS) ranges from 0 to 90. Scores of 0 indicate the least amount of inflammation of the joint while scores of 3 indicate the most amount of inflammation. A higher value of the total score for PDUS represents more severe disease level.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2, Month 3
GSUS
30 joints will be evaluated using a 0 to 3 point scale for each joint and the sum of these represents GSUS. The grey scale synovial hypertrophy score (GSUS) ranges from 0 to 90. Scores of 0 indicate the least amount of inflammation of the joint while scores of 3 indicate the most amount of inflammation. A higher value of the total score for GSUS represents more severe disease level.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2, Month 3
CDAI
CDAI was derived as the sum of the following: tender joint count (TJC), swollen joint count (SJC), participant global assessment (PGA) of disease activity, and physician assessment of disease activity. TJC and SJC were taken as the number of tender and swollen joints, respectively, out of 28 assessed joints. PGA and physician assessment of disease activity were scored 0-100 millimeters (mm) and rounded to the nearest centimeter (cm) on a visual analog scale (VAS), where higher scores indicate greater perceived disease activity. The total CDAI score range was 0-76, where higher scores indicate increased disease activity.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2, Month 3
DAS28/ESR
TJC and SJC were taken as the number of tender and swollen joints, respectively, out of 28 assessed joints. Patient Global Assessment of disease activity was scored 0-100 millimeters (mm) and rounded to the nearest centimeter (cm) on a visual analog scale (VAS), where higher scores indicate greater perceived disease activity. ESR lab value were included in the total calculation. The scale being used is called the Disease Activity Score for 28 Joints (DAS28) using the Erythrocyte Sedimentation Rate (ESR) in the calculation.The scale ranges from 0 to 9.4, where higher values represent a higher disease activity.The complete formula to calculate DAS28/ESR is 0.56\*sqrt(TJC) + (0.28\*sqrt(SJC)) + (0.7\*ln(ESR)) + (0.014\*Patient Global\*10).
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Time frame: Baseline, Week 2, Month 3
MBDA
The multi-biomarker disease activity (MBDA) blood test assesses RA disease activity. An algorithm of 12 markers is used to characterize RA disease activity on a scale of 1-100, where a score of 100 represents the highest level of disease activity present.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 2, Month 3