Back to Journals » Therapeutics and Clinical Risk Management » Volume 6
Critical appraisal of tocilizumab in the treatment of moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis
Authors Hushaw LL, Sawaqed R, Sweis G, Reigle J, Gopal A, Brandt D, Sweis N, Curran J, Niewold TB, Sweiss N
Published 16 March 2010 Volume 2010:6 Pages 143—152
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/TCRM.S5582
Review by Single anonymous peer review
Peer reviewer comments 2
Linda L Hushaw, Ray Sawaqed, Ghaleb Sweis, Jori Reigle, Anjali Gopal, Daniel Brandt, Nadia Sweis, James Curran, Timothy B Niewold, Nadera J Sweiss
University of Chicago, Section of Rheumatology, Chicago, ILL, USA
Abstract: Recent advances in our understanding of the role of interleukin (IL)-6 in autoimmunity and in particular rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have brought about important changes in the way we think about autoimmune diseases. Encouraging data from several phase III clinical trials of tocilizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against IL-6R, have led to its approval in Europe for the treatment of moderate to severe RA. Data on clinical efficacy, patient-reported outcomes, safety, and cost-effectiveness with the use of tocilizumab in patients with RA will be summarized in this review, with particular emphasis on phase III clinical trials. Furthermore, adverse events associated with the use of tocilizumab will be reviewed. Future clinical trials will evaluate the role of tocilizumab in other autoimmune diseases. The goal of this review is to describe the current understanding of the role of IL-6 in mediating the inflammatory response in RA, as well as the role of tocilizumab in the treatment of RA and the evolving role of this agent in other autoimmune diseases.
Keywords: tocilizumab, rheumatoid arthritis, IL-6, methotrexate
© 2010 The Author(s). This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution - Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License. By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms.