title: A review of tocilizumab treatment in 122 rheumatoid arthritis patients included in the Tsurumai Biologics Communication Registry (TBCR) Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Biologics have transformed the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis. Clinical remission is now the goal. We sought to verify whether the administration of tocilizumab-a biologic-can help to achieve current treatment goals.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using data from the Tsurumai Biologics Communication Registry for 122 patients treated with tocilizumab, we evaluated changes in DAS28-ESR at 12 months after initiation, and also evaluated remission rates defined using conventional and new Boolean-based remission criteria. We divided 50 patients who had received tocilizumab as a first-line treatment into two groups [disease duration at baseline of 12 months or less (≤12 M) and more than 12 months (>12 M)].
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 12 months after initiation, there was no difference in DAS28-ESR, and remission rates based on the conventional criterion were also comparable (50 % in both groups). However, under the new criterion, remission was 50.0 % in the ≤12 M group against 12.5 % in the >12 M group (p = 0.0181). Among the individual components of the new remission criterion, the small proportion of patients in the >12 M group with a patient global assessment (PtGA) of ≤1 had a particularly strong influence on the remission rate for that group, but this component was not as important for the ≤12 M group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When used as a first-line biological drug for patients with early-stage RA (≤12 M), tocilizumab appears to provide high rates of remission under the Boolean-based remission criterion, which were strongly affected by the PtGA.
authors.affiliation: Department of Rheumatology, Tokyo Kosei Nenkin Hospital, 5-1 Tsukudo-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8543, Japan. y-yabe@tkn-hosp.gr.jp
authors.forename: Yuichiro
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yabe
authors.forename: Toshihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kojima
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kaneko
authors.forename: Nobuyuki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Asai
authors.forename: Tomonori
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayakawa
authors.forename: Naoki
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ishiguro
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004334:Drug Administration Schedule; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012042:Registries; D012074:Remission Induction; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D061067:Antibodies, Monoclonal, Humanized; D018501:Antirheumatic Agents; D001688:Biological Products; C502936:tocilizumab