December 2024 to March 2025
Authors: Slaverio La Bella & Stephanie Ling
Immune checkpoint inhibitors-induced large vessel vasculitis: clinical characteristics and management from a European multicentre study
Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have marked a paradigm shift in cancer treatment. However, they are a known cause of immune-related adverse events, a rare example being ICI-induced large vessel vasculitis (LVV). Cottu A, et al. (doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keaf172) describe a multi-centre European series of such patients, who had undergone ICI therapy for cancer between 2018-2024. Relapse rates of LVV were 33% in patients who continued ICIs vs 22% in those who discontinued them. Cancer progression remained the primary cause of mortality in those cases studied, so continuation of ICIs must be balanced against management of LVV.
Muscle-specific miRNAs in plasma and skeletal muscle of patients with idiopathic inflammatory myopathy are modulated by disease and training
Laiferová N, et al. (doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keae704) examined skeletal muscle biopsy, skeletal muscle cell and plasma miRNAs in both patients with inflammatory idiopathic myopathy (IIM) and in healthy controls. They concluded that lower muscle-specific miRNA levels in the skeletal muscle of IIM patients indicated impaired muscle regenerative potential. They also added that muscle-specific miRNAs could potentially contribute to exercise adaptations and health benefits in IIM, following their findings pre- and post-exercise protocols.
Evaluating the therapeutic potential of tofacitinib in Sjögren’s disease: a comprehensive clinical and immunological assessment
Liu Q, et al. (doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keaf173) carried out cohort studies in two independent cohorts to assess the clinical efficacy and immunological effect of tofacitinib in primary Sjögren’s syndrome. The authors concluded that tofacitinib was effective in improving disease activity, measured using ESSDAI scores, after six months of treatment. Furthermore, they found that tofacitinib use was associated with suppression of Tf and Tp helper cells, indicating its effect in immune modulation in these patients.
Off-label use of biologics in urticarial vasculitis: a European retrospective cohort study
Maisonobe L, et al. (doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keaf039) carried out a retrospective multi-centre study based in Europe including patients with both hypocomplementaemic and normocomplementaemic urticarial vasculitis. 41 patients were included from a time period spanning 2008-2021. Biologic (b)DMARDs were used as a median fifth line of treatment. The authors concluded that bDMARDs were effective and well-tolerated in the treatment of urticarial vasculitis refractory to conventional therapies.
Sustained efficacy of second-line JAK inhibitors in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: insights from the ANSWER cohort
Tsujimoto K, et al. (doi:10.1093/rheumatology/keaf157) carried out a multi-centre retrospective observational study in Japan using the ANSWER cohort of patients with RA. The analysis included 5,900 treatment courses, comprising 4,046 bDMARD/JAK inhibitor (JAKi)-naïve cases and 1,854 second-line cases. The authors concluded that JAKi maintained similar continuation rates and efficacy in second-line treatment in comparison to first-line, and that JAKi were potentially advantageous over bDMARDs for patients with RA requiring a change in initial targeted therapy.
Saverio La Bella
Saverio is a pediatric rheumatology resident at the IRCCS Istituto Giannina Gaslini in Genoa, Italy. His research interests include autoinflammatory diseases, the application of artificial intelligence tools, and the use of media platforms as educational tools in pediatric rheumatology. He is a member of the Paediatric Rheumatology European Society (PReS) and its Young Investigators group. Saverio is a member of the social media sub-committee of EMEUNET.
Stephanie Ling
Steph is an NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer, carrying out her research at the University of Manchester. Her research interests are focused on analysis of multi-omics methods to define predictors of treatment response in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, as well as pharmacological modelling and simulation. She is a member of the British Society for Rheumatology. She is currently an author for the 19th EULAR Online Course on Rheumatic Diseases. Steph is a member of the EMEUNET Newsletter sub-committee.