No correlation between anti-drug antibodies and therapeutic response in
Tunisian patients with chronic inflammatory diseases treated by TNF
blockers
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF alpha) blockers such as
infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) had significantly changed the
course of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA),
spondyloarthritis (SpA) and Crohn’s disease (CD). However, about 30% of
patients do not respond to these treatments. This lack of response may
be due to the formation of antibodies against these drugs (anti-drug
antibodies: ADAbs). The aim of this study was to determine the
prevalence ADAbs against IFX and ADA, and the trough serum concentration
of IFX and ADA in RA, SpA or CD patients and to assess their impact on
the therapeutic response. METHODS: A cross sectional, multi-centric
study was conducted including patients with RA, SpA or CD treated with
IFX or ADA as a first biotherapy for at least 6 months. ADAbs and trough
levels were measured by an Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent assay (ELISA).
RESULTS: 137 patients were included (37 RA, 53 SpA and 47 CD). ADAbs
were positive in 40% of cases for IFX and 25% for ADA. They were
positive in 39% of SpA, 35% of RA, and 21% of CD. The presence of
ADAbs was inversely correlated to the trough levels of IFX and ADA
during RA (p=0.01 and p<0.0001), SpA (p<0.01 and
p<0.0001) and CD (p=0.001 and p=0.04). For all pathologies,
the presence of ADAbs was not correlated with disease activity.
CONCLUSION: In our study, the presence of ADAb and low trough levels
seem to not affect the therapeutic response in patients on TNF alpha
antagonists.