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type=\u0022text\/css\u0022 rel=\u0022stylesheet\u0022 href=\u0022\/\/d282kpwvnogo5m.cloudfront.net\/sites\/default\/files\/advagg_css\/css__ce2QY63WIanKyr8eSq7eavr1XQRRmFD6ZSmwpyJi8lM__zXwFqpqmxrZOXXcd_TpBQpjuELbmIP9wBR5UuTDWAO4__YJWWMMdfCJuAFm5cUEp88OsodhO3ZA-2lzRfoBsSlk4.css\u0022 media=\u0022all\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Clink rel=\u0027stylesheet\u0027 type=\u0027text\/css\u0027 href=\u0027\/sites\/all\/modules\/contrib\/panels\/plugins\/layouts\/onecol\/onecol.css\u0027 \/\u003E\u003C\/head\u003E\u003Cbody\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022panels-ajax-tab-panel panels-ajax-tab-panel-sageoa-tab-art\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022panel-display panel-1col clearfix\u0022 \u003E\n  \u003Cdiv class=\u0022panel-panel panel-col\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022panel-pane pane-highwire-markup\u0022 \u003E\n  \n      \n  \n  \u003Cdiv class=\u0022pane-content\u0022\u003E\n    \u003Cdiv class=\u0022highwire-markup\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv xmlns=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xhtml\u0022 id=\u0022content-block-markup\u0022 xmlns:xhtml=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xhtml\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022article fulltext-view \u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022highwire-journal-article-marker-start\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022section abstract\u0022 id=\u0022abstract-1\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESummary\u003C\/h2\u003E\n            \u003Cp id=\u0022p-1\u0022\u003EAlthough studies have shown current anti-TNF treatments to be superior to short-term methotrexate (ie, before 24 weeks), none has shown superiority at Week 24. The AMBITION study [\u003Ca class=\u0022external-ref external-ref-type-clintrialgov\u0022 href=\u0022\/lookup\/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV\u0026amp;access_num=NCT00109408\u0026amp;atom=%2Fspmdc%2F8%2F5%2F14.2.atom\u0022\u003ENCT00109408\u003C\/a\u003E] showed that after 24 weeks, tocilizumab (an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody that inhibits IL-6 signaling) monotherapy was clinically superior to methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis who have not failed previous MTX or biologic treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n         \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cul class=\u0022kwd-group\u0022\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022kwd\u0022\u003Erheumatology clinical trials\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022kwd\u0022\u003Erheumatoid arthritis\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022section\u0022 id=\u0022sec-1\u0022\u003E\n         \n         \u003Cp id=\u0022p-2\u0022\u003EAlthough studies have shown current anti-TNF treatments to be superior to short-term methotrexate (ie, before 24 weeks), none has shown superiority at Week 24. Graeme Jones, MD, PhD, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Australia, lead investigator of the AMBITION study (\u003Ca class=\u0022external-ref external-ref-type-clintrialgov\u0022 href=\u0022\/lookup\/external-ref?link_type=CLINTRIALGOV\u0026amp;access_num=NCT00109408\u0026amp;atom=%2Fspmdc%2F8%2F5%2F14.2.atom\u0022\u003ENCT00109408\u003C\/a\u003E), presented data that showed that after 24 weeks, tocilizumab (an anti-IL-6 receptor antibody that inhibits IL-6 signaling) monotherapy was clinically superior to methotrexate (MTX) monotherapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who have not failed previous MTX or biologic treatment.\u003C\/p\u003E\n         \u003Cp id=\u0022p-3\u0022\u003EAMBITION was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, phase 3 study in patients with active moderate to severe RA of at least 3 months duration who were MTX-na\u00efve or had not received MTX for at least 6 months before randomization and had not previously failed MTX or biologic treatment. Additional inclusion criteria included: swollen joint count \u22656 (of 66) and tender joint count \u22658 (of 68) at screening\/baseline and CRP \u22651.0 mg\/dL or ESR \u226528 mm\/hr. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either tocilizumab 8 mg\/kg every 4 weeks plus placebo capsules weekly or placebo infusions every 4 weeks plus methotrexate (7.5 mg\/week titrated to 20 mg\/week within 8 weeks).\u003C\/p\u003E\n         \u003Cp id=\u0022p-4\u0022\u003EAfter 24 weeks of treatment, 70% of tocilizumab patients achieved a 20% improvement in their symptoms versus 53% of MTX patients (p\u0026lt;0.0001; \u003Ca id=\u0022xref-fig-1-1\u0022 class=\u0022xref-fig\u0022 href=\u0022#F1\u0022\u003EFigure 1\u003C\/a\u003E). Significant differences in favor of tocilizumab also were seen on ACR50 and ACR70 responses (\u003Ca id=\u0022xref-table-wrap-1-1\u0022 class=\u0022xref-table\u0022 href=\u0022#T1\u0022\u003ETable 1\u003C\/a\u003E). A higher proportion of patients who received tocilizumab achieved a good\/moderate EULAR response as early as Week 2 (64% vs 19% MTX).\u003C\/p\u003E\n         \u003Cp id=\u0022p-5\u0022\u003EMean change in CRP levels from baseline to Week 24 was \u22122.6 mg\/dL for tocilizumab versus \u22121.9 mg\/dL for MTX. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was similar (80% tocilizumab; 78% MTX). AEs that led to withdrawal were more common in the MTX arm (5.3% vs 3.8% for tocilizumab). Serious AEs were higher with tocilizumab (4% vs 3% for MTX), as were serious infections (1.4% vs 0.7% for MTX), but these differences were not statistically significant. Shifts in ALT from normal at baseline to \u0026gt;3x ULN occurred more frequently in the MTX arm (4%) compared with tocilizumab (2%). Shifts in total cholesterol from \u0026lt;200 to \u0026gt;240 mg\/dL occurred more frequently with tocilizumab (13% vs \u0026lt;1% for MTX).\u003C\/p\u003E\n         \u003Cdiv id=\u0022F1\u0022 class=\u0022fig pos-float  odd\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022highwire-figure\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022fig-inline-img-wrapper\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022fig-inline-img\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/d282kpwvnogo5m.cloudfront.net\/content\/spmdc\/8\/5\/14.2\/F1.large.jpg?width=800\u0026amp;height=600\u0026amp;carousel=1\u0022 title=\u0022ACR 20, 50, and 70 Response Rates at Week 24.\u0022 class=\u0022fragment-images colorbox-load\u0022 rel=\u0022gallery-fragment-images-950541590\u0022 data-figure-caption=\u0022ACR 20, 50, and 70 Response Rates at Week 24.\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003E\u003Cimg class=\u0022fragment-image\u0022 alt=\u0022Figure 1.\u0022 src=\u0022http:\/\/d282kpwvnogo5m.cloudfront.net\/content\/spmdc\/8\/5\/14.2\/F1.medium.gif\u0022\/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cul class=\u0022highwire-figure-links inline\u0022\u003E\u003Cli class=\u00220 first\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/d282kpwvnogo5m.cloudfront.net\/content\/spmdc\/8\/5\/14.2\/F1.large.jpg?download=true\u0022 class=\u0022highwire-figure-link highwire-figure-link-download\u0022 title=\u0022Download Figure 1.\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EDownload figure\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u00221\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/d282kpwvnogo5m.cloudfront.net\/content\/spmdc\/8\/5\/14.2\/F1.large.jpg\u0022 class=\u0022highwire-figure-link highwire-figure-link-newtab\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EOpen in new tab\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u00222 last\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022\/highwire\/powerpoint\/10977\u0022 class=\u0022highwire-figure-link highwire-figure-link-ppt\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EDownload powerpoint\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022fig-caption\u0022 xmlns:xhtml=\u0022http:\/\/www.w3.org\/1999\/xhtml\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022fig-label\u0022\u003EFigure 1.\u003C\/span\u003E \n               \u003Cp id=\u0022p-6\u0022 class=\u0022first-child\u0022\u003EACR 20, 50, and 70 Response Rates at Week 24.\u003C\/p\u003E\n            \u003Cdiv class=\u0022sb-div caption-clear\u0022\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n         \u003Cdiv id=\u0022T1\u0022 class=\u0022table pos-float\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022table-inline\u0022\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022callout\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EView this table:\u003C\/span\u003E\u003Cul class=\u0022callout-links\u0022\u003E\u003Cli class=\u00220 first\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022\/\u0022 class=\u0022table-expand-inline\u0022 data-table-url=\u0022\/highwire\/markup\/10980\/expansion?postprocessors=highwire_figures%2Chighwire_math%2Chighwire_inline_linked_media%2Chighwire_embed\u0026amp;table-expand-inline=1\u0022 html=\u00221\u0022 fragment=\u0022#\u0022 external=\u00221\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EView inline\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u00221\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022\/highwire\/markup\/10980\/expansion?width=1000\u0026amp;height=500\u0026amp;iframe=true\u0026amp;postprocessors=highwire_figures%2Chighwire_math%2Chighwire_inline_linked_media\u0022 class=\u0022colorbox colorbox-load table-expand-popup\u0022 rel=\u0022gallery-fragment-tables\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EView popup\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003Cli class=\u00222 last\u0022\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022\/highwire\/powerpoint\/10980\u0022 class=\u0022highwire-figure-link highwire-figure-link-ppt\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EDownload powerpoint\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022table-caption\u0022\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022table-label\u0022\u003ETable 1:\u003C\/span\u003E \n               \u003Cp id=\u0022p-7\u0022 class=\u0022first-child\u0022\u003EResults at Week 24 (ITT population).\u003C\/p\u003E\n            \u003Cdiv class=\u0022sb-div caption-clear\u0022\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\n         \u003Cp id=\u0022p-8\u0022\u003E\u201cWe are very encouraged by the results of the AMBITION study, which shows for the first time that treatment with a single biologic agent is superior to methotrexate at 6 months of therapy,\u201d said Prof. Jones. \u201cOverall, these compelling results further establish the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab in treating the chronic signs and symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis that dramatically affect the lives of patients.\u201d\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cul class=\u0022copyright-statement\u0022\u003E\u003Cli class=\u0022fn\u0022 id=\u0022copyright-statement-1\u0022\u003E\u00a9 2008 MD Conference Express\u003C\/li\u003E\u003C\/ul\u003E\u003Cspan class=\u0022highwire-journal-article-marker-end\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cspan id=\u0022related-urls\u0022\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/mdc.sagepub.com\/content\/8\/5\/14.2.abstract\u0022 class=\u0022hw-link hw-link-article-abstract\u0022 data-icon-position=\u0022\u0022 data-hide-link-title=\u00220\u0022\u003EView Summary\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/div\u003E  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\n  \n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\u003Cscript type=\u0022text\/javascript\u0022 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