Referring to the study by Kubo et al., Dr. Lood notes that for rheumatologists, “this is a reminder that patients are individuals, and not all the same, with various pathologic mechanisms driving the disease resulting in different responses to targeted treatment. Of note from the current study, JAK inhibitors had a broad effect across various immunophenotypes whereas more targeted therapies, including IL-6 inhibitors or CTLA4-Ig, had limited effect in some immunophenotypes.”
For researchers, the study by Kubo et al. “highlights the continued need for a more granular understanding of the various disease mechanisms driving arthritis in facilitating disease stratification as well as the development of more targeted approaches to treat the disease,” Dr. Lood says. “It is also important to recognize that, albeit able to stratify patients, the current findings are of correlative nature, and that additional studies are required to determine whether the defining features, such as distinct CD4+ subsets, are causative in driving disease.”
Katie Robinson is a medical writer based in New York.
References
- Kubo S, Miyazaki Y, Nishino T, et al. Peripheral blood immunophenotypic diversity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its impact on therapeutic responsiveness. Ann Rheum Dis. 2024 Oct 4:ard-2024-226228.
- Kuley R, Duvvuri B, Hasnain S, et al. Neutrophil activation markers and rheumatoid arthritis treatment response to the JAK1/2 inhibitor baricitinib. Arthritis Rheumatol. 2024 Oct 21. Online ahead of print.
Contributor Disclosures
Dr. Kubo has received speaking fees from Eli Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol Myers, AbbVie, Eisai, Pfizer and AstraZeneca, along with research grants from Daiichi Sankyo, AbbVie, Boehringer Ingelheim and Astellas.
Dr. Lood has received research funding from Pfizer, Gilead Sciences, Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim, Amytryx and Redd Pharma, consulted for Redd Pharma, Exagen and Citryll, and has stock options for Redd Pharma.
