Scintigraphy for Prediction In Rheumatoid Intentional Therapy Tapering

Overview

The goal of this observational study is to investigate whether 99mTc-maraciclatide imaging prior to biologic therapy tapering and after 3 months can predict those at risk of Rheumatoid arthritis flare. Participants undergoing routine tapering of biologic drug therapy will have 99mTc-maraciclatide imaging in addition to normal ultrasound imaging and then followed up over 12 months to assess whether an interval scan alone or in combination with the baseline scan is predictive of flare.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a chronic inflammatory condition affecting the joints which over time can cause progressive arthritis and disability. Since the introduction of widespread us of targeted biologic therapies. More patients are now maintained in remission and low disease activity with better long-term outcomes. Making treatment decisions can be challenging as disease activity scores do not always reflect inflammatory disease activity and active inflammation may be present but not manifested by clinically obvious swelling. Ultrasound, and in particular power Doppler (PD), has been shown to be a more sensitive indicator of active inflammatory disease and is widely used in clinical practice to inform decision making. However, ultrasound is time consuming and thus expensive and it is impractical to image more than a few joints routinely. We have shown that 99mTc-maraciclatide, a nuclear imaging agent that uses equipment routinely available in hospitals, correlates with PD and hence has potential as an accessible, more cost effective and, as is has the potential to image all the joints in a single acquisition, more clinically informative alternative. Many patients on biologic therapy achieve low disease activity and may be suitable for tapering of medication. This has the advantage of reducing exposure to immunosuppressive medication and reducing costs. Whilst many patients can be tapered safely it is not always clear who is at risk of flaring. It is known that the presence of PD signal can predict higher risk, but this is not routinely used in practice for the reasons above. In this study we will investigate whether 99mTc-maraciclatide imaging prior to tapering and after 3 months can predict those at risk of flare. Success will indicate that it could be used in clinical practice with potential to minimise exposure to unnecessary treatment whilst preserving clinical outcomes, improving patient experience and reducing costs.

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Central Contacts