Adalimumab exhibits superiority over etanercept in terms of a numerically higher response rate and equivalent adverse events: A real‐world finding

• Published in: Immunity, Inflammation and Disease Vol. 12; no. 2; pp. e1166 - n/a
• Main Authors: Yu, Zhe, Gao, Ling, Zang, Yinshan, Cheng, Lu, Gao, Wenjia, Xu, Yan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.02.2024; John Wiley and Sons Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: adalimumab; Adalimumab - adverse effects; Arthritis, Rheumatoid - drug therapy; China; efficacy; etanercept; Etanercept - adverse effects; Females; Hepatitis; Humans; Males; Original; Proteins; Retrospective Studies; rheumatoid arthritis; safety; TNF inhibitors; Tumor necrosis factor-TNF; China; rheumatoid arthritis; etanercept; safety; adalimumab; efficacy
• ISSN: 2050-4527; 2050-4527
• DOI: 10.1002/iid3.1166

Introduction Adalimumab (ADA) and etanercept (ETN) are the most commonly applied biologics for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) management in China; however, the evidence regarding their superiority is controversial. In addition, in real‐world clinical settings, many factors may affect the application of these agents, such as dosage and administration period. Therefore, the present real‐world study aimed to compare the efficacy and safety of ADA and ETN treatment in RA patients via the propensity score matching method. Methods In total, 105 RA patients receiving ADA (n = 66) or ETN (n = 39) were reviewed in this retrospective study. The propensity score matching method was used to eliminate discrepancies in baseline features. Clinical response, low disease activity (LDA), and remission were evaluated based on the DAS28. Results Before propensity score matching, compared with ETN, ADA yielded higher rates of clinical response at W24 (97.0% vs. 84.6%, p = .021), LDA at W12 (78.8% vs. 51.3%, p = .003), and remission at W24 (75.8% vs. 46.2%, p = .002). After propensity score matching, compared with ETN, ADA only achieved a higher rate of clinical response at W24 (96.3% vs. 77.8%, p = .043), whereas the rates of LDA and remission were not different between ADA and ETN treatments at any time point (all p > .05). In addition, the incidence of adverse events was not significantly different between the ADA and ETN treatments (all p > .05). Conclusion ADA shows superiority over ETN in terms of a numerically greater response rate and equivalent adverse events. Before propensity‐score matching, adalimumab achieves higher rates of clinical response, low disease activity, and remission than etanercept in rheumatoid arthritis patients. After matching, adalimumab still realizes a higher rate of clinical response than etanercept to some extent with equivalent safety in rheumatoid arthritis patients