title: Early increase in serum-COMP is associated with joint damage progression over the first five years in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Currently available biomarkers for the early tissue process leading to joint damage in rheumatoid arthritis are insufficient and lack prognostic accuracy, possibly a result of variable activity of the disease over time. This study represents a novel approach to detect an altered activity of the disease process detected as increasing serum-COMP levels over a short time and whether this would correlate with joint damage progression over the first 5 years of disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  In all, 349 patients from the Swedish BARFOT early RA study were examined. Serum-COMP was analysed by ELISA at diagnosis and after 3 months. Based on changes in serum-COMP levels, three subgroups of patients were defined: those with unchanged levels (change ≤ 20%) (N=142), decreasing levels (> 20%) (N=173) and increasing levels (> 20%) (N=34). Radiographs of hands and feet were obtained at inclusion, after 1, 2 and 5 years and scored according to Sharp van der Heijde (SHS). Radiographic progression was defined as increase in SHS by ≥5.8.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The group of patients with increasing COMP levels showed higher median change in total SHS and erosion scores at 1, 2 and 5 year follow-up compared with the groups with stable or decreasing COMP levels. Furthermore, the odds ratio of radiographic progression was 2.8 (95% CI 1.26-6.38) for patients with increasing COMP levels vs. patients with unchanged levels.The group of patients with increasing COMP levels had higher ESR at inclusion but there were no baseline differences between the groups for age, gender, disease duration, disease activity (DAS28), function (HAQ), CRP, nor presence of rheumatoid factor or anti-CCP. Importantly, neither did changes over the 3-month period in DAS28, HAQ, ESR nor CRP differ between the groups and these variables did not correlate to joint damage progression.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Increasing serum-COMP levels between diagnosis and the subsequent 3 months in patients with early RA represents a novel indicator of an activated destructive process in the joint and is a promising tool to identify patients with significant joint damage progression during a 5-year period.
authors.affiliation: R and D center, Spenshult Hospital, Oskarström, Sweden. maria.andersson@spenshult.se
authors.forename: Maria L E
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Andersson
authors.forename: Björn
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.forename: Ingemar F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Petersson
authors.forename: Ingiäld
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hafström
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Albertsson
authors.forename: Kristina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Forslind
authors.forename: Dick
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Heinegård
authors.forename: Tore
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Saxne
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology; D001175:Arthrography; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood*; D064236:Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein; D018450:Disease Progression; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006023:Glycoproteins / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D007596:Joints / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D064235:Matrilin Proteins; D008875:Middle Aged; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D064236:Cartilage Oligomeric Matrix Protein; D016326:Extracellular Matrix Proteins; D006023:Glycoproteins; D064235:Matrilin Proteins; C577553:TSP5 protein, human
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