D Lukin et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2022; 20: 126-135. Open Access: Comparative Safety and Effectiveness of Vedolizumab to Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonist Therapy for Ulcerative Colitis

This multicenter, retrospective observational cohort study (2014-2017) studied the outcomes of 722 adults (n=454 vedolizumab (VDZ), n=268 TNF agents (165 IFX, 103 ADA). Key findings:

• VDZ-treated patients were more likely to achieve clinical remission (hazard ratio [HR], 1.651; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.229-2.217), steroid-free clinical remission (HR, 1.828; 95% CI, 1.135-2.944), and steroid-free deep remission (HR, 2.819; 95% CI, 1.496-5.310) than those treated with TNF antagonists
• Safety: Overall, there were no statistically significant differences in the risk of serious adverse events (HR, 0.899; 95% CI, 0.502-1.612) or serious infections (HR, 1.235; 95% CI, 0.608-2.511) between VDZ-treated and TNF-antagonist−treated patients.
• In TNF-antagonist−naïve patients, VDZ was less likely to be associated with serious adverse events than TNF antagonists (HR, 0.192; 95% CI, 0.049-0.754). Thus, among UC patients with no prior TNF exposure, there was nearly an 80% reduction in any serious adverse event (this difference could be related, at least in part, to patient selection/disease severity)
• In TNF-exposed patients, VDZ was associated with a significant increased risk for serious infections (HR, 4.295).

The authors note that the clinical remission results are similar to a previous head-to-head study of VDZ vs ADA in which VDZ had OR 1.568 for achieving clinical remission. It should be noted that the potential conflict of interest list of the 36 authors is extensive.

My take: This article supports VDZ as a first-line option for UC and strengthens the argument that it should be the first biologic for most patients with UC.

Related blog posts:

• Vedolizumab vs Adalimumab: Histology Outcomes from Varsity Trial | gutsandgrowth
• Vedolizumab versus Adalimumab for Ulcerative Colitis (part 2)
• Vedolizumab More Effective Than Adalimumab for Ulcerative Colitis
• Comparative Efficacy: Vedolizumab vs Anti-TNF Agents
• Real-World Vedolizumab: Better Than Expected

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