Long-term safety of tofacitinib for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis up to 8.5 years: integrated analysis of data from the global clinical trials

Ann Rheum Dis. 2017 Jul;76(7):1253-1262. doi: 10.1136/annrheumdis-2016-210457. Epub 2017 Jan 31.

Abstract

Objectives: Tofacitinib is an oral Janus kinase inhibitor for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). We report an integrated safety summary of tofacitinib from two phase I, nine phase II, six phase III and two long-term extension studies in adult patients with active RA.

Methods: Data were pooled for all tofacitinib-treated patients (data cut-off: 31 March 2015). Incidence rates (IRs; patients with event/100 patient-years) and 95% CIs are reported for adverse events (AEs) of interest.

Results: 6194 patients received tofacitinib for a total 19 406 patient-years' exposure; median exposure was 3.4 patient-years. IR (95% CI) for serious AEs was 9.4 (9.0 to 9.9); IR for serious infections was 2.7 (2.5 to 3.0). IR for (all) herpes zoster was 3.9 (3.6 to 4.2); IR for disseminated or multidermatomal herpes zoster was 0.3 (0.2 to 0.4). IR for opportunistic infections (excluding tuberculosis) was 0.3 (0.2 to 0.4) and was 0.2 (0.1 to 0.3) for tuberculosis. IR for malignancies (excluding non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC)) was 0.9 (0.8 to 1.0); NMSC IR was 0.6 (0.5 to 0.7). IR for gastrointestinal perforations was 0.1 (0.1 to 0.2). Analysis of IR for serious infections, herpes zoster and malignancies by 6-month intervals did not reveal any notable increase in IR with longer-duration tofacitinib exposure.

Conclusion: This analysis of tofacitinib exposure up to 8.5 years allowed estimation of safety events with improved precision versus previous tofacitinib reports. AEs were generally stable over time; no new safety signals were observed compared with previous tofacitinib reports.

Trial registration numbers: NCT01262118, NCT01484561, NCT00147498, NCT00413660, NCT00550446, NCT00603512, NCT00687193, NCT01164579, NCT00976599, NCT01059864, NCT01359150, NCT00960440, NCT00847613, NCT00814307, NCT00856544, NCT00853385, NCT01039688, NCT00413699, NCT00661661; Results.

Keywords: Cardiovascular Disease; Infections; Rheumatoid Arthritis; Treatment; Tuberculosis.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid / drug therapy*
  • Clinical Trials as Topic
  • Female
  • Herpes Zoster / epidemiology
  • Herpes Zoster / etiology*
  • Herpes Zoster / immunology
  • Humans
  • Immunocompromised Host*
  • Incidence
  • Infections / epidemiology
  • Infections / etiology
  • Infections / immunology
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neoplasms / epidemiology
  • Neoplasms / etiology*
  • Neoplasms / immunology
  • Opportunistic Infections / epidemiology
  • Opportunistic Infections / etiology*
  • Opportunistic Infections / immunology
  • Piperidines / adverse effects*
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors / adverse effects*
  • Pyrimidines / adverse effects*
  • Pyrroles / adverse effects*
  • Time Factors
  • Tuberculosis / epidemiology
  • Tuberculosis / etiology*
  • Tuberculosis / immunology
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Piperidines
  • Protein Kinase Inhibitors
  • Pyrimidines
  • Pyrroles
  • tofacitinib

Associated data

  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00853385
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00976599
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00960440
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01262118
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00814307
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00413660
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00847613
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01164579
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00687193
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00856544
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00603512
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01039688
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00147498
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00661661
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01359150
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01484561
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00413699
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT00550446
  • ClinicalTrials.gov/NCT01059864