Tag Archives: Ulcerative colitis

Low Rate of Ocular Disease in Pediatric Crohn’s Disease

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A recent study (S Naviglio et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2017; 23: 986-90) confirms that there is a low rate of ocular disease in pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); in this cohort, half had Crohn’s disease (CD) and half had ulcerative colitis.

In this single center study, 94 children with a median age of 13.4 yrs were offered ophthalmologic examination (2014-2016).  None of these patients reported ocular symptoms.  The authors assert that 70% had intestinal remission, though 64% had elevated fecal calprotectin levels (>100 mg/kg). Key finding: One patient (1.06%) had ocular finding of uveitis (previously diagnosed prior to study)

The authors indicate that hepatobiliary manifestations, present in 9, were the most common extraintestinal IBD manifestation (EIM). Arthropathy occurred in 8, cutaneous manifestations occurred in 6 and ‘metastatic’ CD occurred in 4.

My take:  Ocular disease is an infrequent EIM in pediatric patients with IBD.

Related article: K Hata et al. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2017; 23: 1019-24. This article found that patients with EIMs were more likely to have chronic pouchitis after colectomy for ulcerative colitis. Overall, chronic pouchitis developed in 3.3%, 7.6% and 16.6% at 2, 5, and 10 years respectively. Key finding: preoperative EIM yielded a HR of 4.52.

Tofacitinib Induction and Maintenance for Ulcerative Colitis

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W Sandborn et al. N Engl J Med 2017; 376:1723-1736 May 4, 2017DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1606910

Abstract from NEJM:

BACKGROUND

Tofacitinib, an oral, small-molecule Janus kinase inhibitor, was shown to have potential efficacy as induction therapy for ulcerative colitis in a phase 2 trial. We further evaluated the efficacy of tofacitinib as induction and maintenance therapy.

 

METHODS

We conducted three phase 3, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials of tofacitinib therapy in adults with ulcerative colitis. In the OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2 trials, 598 and 541 patients, respectively, who had moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis despite previous conventional therapy or therapy with a tumor necrosis factor antagonist were randomly assigned to receive induction therapy with tofacitinib (10 mg twice daily) or placebo for 8 weeks. The primary end point was remission at 8 weeks. In the OCTAVE Sustain trial, 593 patients who had a clinical response to induction therapy were randomly assigned to receive maintenance therapy with tofacitinib (either 5 mg or 10 mg twice daily) or placebo for 52 weeks. The primary end point was remission at 52 weeks.

 

RESULTS

In the OCTAVE Induction 1 trial, remission at 8 weeks occurred in 18.5% of the patients in the tofacitinib group versus 8.2% in the placebo group (P=0.007); in the OCTAVE Induction 2 trial, remission occurred in 16.6% versus 3.6% (P<0.001). In the OCTAVE Sustain trial, remission at 52 weeks occurred in 34.3% of the patients in the 5-mg tofacitinib group and 40.6% in the 10-mg tofacitinib group versus 11.1% in the placebo group (P<0.001 for both comparisons with placebo). In the OCTAVE Induction 1 and 2 trials, the rates of overall infection and serious infection were higher with tofacitinib than with placebo. In the OCTAVE Sustain trial, the rate of serious infection was similar across the three treatment groups, and the rates of overall infection and herpes zoster infection were higher with tofacitinib than with placebo. Across all three trials, adjudicated nonmelanoma skin cancer occurred in five patients who received tofacitinib and in one who received placebo, and adjudicated cardiovascular events occurred in five who received tofacitinib and in none who received placebo; as compared with placebo, tofacitinib was associated with increased lipid levels.

 

CONCLUSIONS

In patients with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis, tofacitinib was more effective as induction and maintenance therapy than placebo.

Vitamin D and Ulcerative Colitis Remission

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A recent study (J Gubatan et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2017; 15: 240-6) examined a prospective study of 70 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC).  These patients (average age 48.6 yrs) were initially in clinical remission.  Key findings:

  • Mean baseline vitamin D (25-OH) level was lower among patients with subsequent relapse (29.5 ng/mL) than those without relapse (50.3 ng/mL)
  • Over 12 months, a 25-OH D value <35, was associated with a small increased risk of relapse (odds ratio1.25). 20% of patients with a value <35 had clinical relapse compared with 9% (P= .003) who had values >35.

Because vitamin D levels are inversely related to UC disease activity, this study is particularly intriguing.  By enrolling patients prospectively while in remission, this study suggests that good vitamin D levels may directly have immunoprotective and anti-inflammatory properties.

The AGA Journals blog provides an excellent summary of this study: Can Vitamin D Affect Risk of Ulcerative Colitis Relapse?

“In an editorial that accompanies the article, Stephen Hanauer reminds readers that the mean vitamin D level in the entire cohort was 44 ng/mL, and 60% of the subjects were taking vitamin D supplements. A normal vitamin D level is considered to be 20–40 ng/mL in healthy individuals, and the 35 ng/mL cut-off level used in the study was within this range.

Hanauer also mentions that in assessing the confidence intervals for risk of relapse at lower or higher vitamin D levels, there does not appear to be a dose–response effect in the odds ratios according to levels. Based on these findings, Hanauer says it would be premature to target a level of 35 ng/mL. He states that the best predictors of clinical relapse are still endoscopic and histologic markers of inflammation.”

My take: At this time, trying to maintain a normal vitamin D level is likely to be worthwhile; though, values obtained during acute flares remain unreliable.

Related blog posts:

Disclaimer: These blog posts are for educational purposes only. Specific dosing of medications/diets (along with potential adverse effects) should be confirmed by prescribing physician/nutritionist.  This content is not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment provided by a qualified healthcare provider. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a condition.

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Vedolizumab: summary of latest data

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BG Feagan et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2017; 15: 229-39.

From Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol, Feb 2017 Issue Highlights Link from AGA twitter feed:Vedolizumab in Anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor Naïve or Previously Exposed Ulcerative Colitis Patients

“Feagan et al present data comparing patients based on past exposure to anti-TNF agents. This post-hoc analysis compared 464 patients who received vedolizumab or placebo who were naïve to TNF antagonists to 367 patients who had been exposed but had an inadequate response, loss of response, or intolerance to TNF antagonists…

The investigators describe greater differences in efficacy for vedolizumab (versus placebo) in patients who were naïve to TNF inhibitors than for patients with prior exposure to anti-TNF agents.

Week 6 reponse rates to vedolizumab or placebo were 53% vs 26% amongst patients naïve to TNF antagonists (absolute difference 26%) compared to 39% vs 21% in patients with prior anti-TNF exposure (absolute difference 18%).

Week 52 remission rates with vedolizumab and placebo were 47% and 19%, respectively, for patients naïve to TNF antagonists (absolute difference 28%) compared with 36% and 5%, respectively, in patients with prior exposure to TNF biologics (absolute difference 29.5%).

Thus, while vedolizumab demonstrated significantly greater efficacy as induction and maintenance therapy for UC patients whether or not they had previously received therapy with anti-TNF agents, there were numerically greater treatment benefit at week 6 among patients who had never received prior biologic therapy.“

My take: Given the higher response in anti-TNF naive patients along with the favorable safety profile, vedolizumab could be considered as a first-line therapy.

Related Blog Posts:

Induction endpoints in TNF-failure patients by type of failure. Forest plots show difference from placebo and 95% CIs for percentages of patients with (A) clinical response, (B) clinical remission, and (C) mucosal healing at Week 6. Patients with more than one type of TNF antagonist failure were evaluated by each type of failure; thus the number of patients in the subgroups may total more than the number of enrolled patients.

Induction endpoints in TNF-failure patients by type of failure. Forest plots show difference from placebo and 95% CIs for percentages of patients with (A) clinical response, (B) clinical remission, and (C) mucosal healing at Week 6. Patients with more than one type of TNF antagonist failure were evaluated by each type of failure; thus the number of patients in the subgroups may total more than the number of enrolled patients.

What Happens When Infliximab Is Stopped in Patients with Ulcerative Colitis Remission

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‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’

Perhaps, the above sentiment is needed for patients with ulcerative colitis who are doing well with infliximab therapy according to a recent study (G Fiorino et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 14: 1426-32).

In this multicenter retrospective cohort study, 111 patients with ulcerative colitis who had been in remission (>12 months) were followed after stopping infliximab (IFX) and compared with 82 controls who remained on therapy.  Here’s what happened (see Figure 1 in study):

  • Among those who discontinued IFX, 53 patients (47.7%) relapsed in the followup period.  This corresponded to an incidence of 23.3 per 100 person-years and with a median time to relapse of 3.6 years.
  • In comparison, for those who remained on IFX, 14 relapses (17.1%) occurred which corresponded to an incidence of 7.2 per 100 person-years at risk and with a median time to relapse of 7.6 years.
  • Thiopurine use after stopping IFX seemed to diminish the risk of relapse: 15.0 per 100 person-years compared with 31.2 per 100 person-years for those taking an aminosalicylate alone.
  • For those who restarted IFX, 77.1% had a response and 51.4% returned to remission; however, 17.1% had infusion reactions.

My take: In a real-life experience, stopping IFX in patients with ulcerative colitis who had been in sustained clinical remission resulted in a higher relapse rate.  This finding is consistent with other studies.

Related blog posts:

The Lawn at University of Virginia

The Lawn at University of Virginia

Latest on Tofacitinib for Refractory Ulcerative Colitis

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From Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News July 2016: Tofacitinib Effective in Refractory and Severe UC

An excerpt:

Tofacitinib (Pfizer), an oral agent already approved for certain patients with rheumatoid arthritis, can induce clinical remission in up to 25% of individuals with moderate to severe, refractory ulcerative colitis (UC) and clinical response in as many as 60% of these patients.

The results, based on two placebo-controlled trials involving more than 1,100 patients, showed the drug also increased the risk for serum lipid elevations but was otherwise safe. Researchers presented the data at the 2016 annual meeting of the European Crohn’s and Colitis Organization (ECCO; oral presentation 019)…

The new data are from the OCTAVE Induction 1 and Induction 2 trials, identically designed, randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled Phase III studies…In the OCTAVE 1 trial, 476 patients received 10 mg of tofacitinib orally twice daily for eight weeks and 122 received an oral placebo. In OCTAVE 2, 429 and 112 patients were randomized to receive the two regimens, respectively.

Screenshot from gastroendonews.com

Screenshot from gastroendonews.com

Also from Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News August 2016: Update on Diagnosis and Treatment for Ulcerative Colitis  This article provides a succinct summary regarding diagnosis and treatments of ulcerative colitis; treatments discussed include emerging therapies like tofacitinib.

 

An Overlooked Finding in a Recent Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis Study

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A recent study (S Choshen et al. JPGN 2016; 63: 58-64) examined 283 children who were treated with IV steroids for acute severe ulcerative colitis.  This study focused on steroid dosing.  Their conclusion: “there does not seem to be a consistent superiority of high dose (>2 mg/kg/day) versus standard (1.25 mg/kg/day) or low-dose (1 mg/kg/day) methylprednisolone in pediatric acute severe colitis.”

Before looking into the details a little closer, one finding that was not even discussed in the abstract or discussion was the colectomy rate of 31%.  Previous pediatric studies of patients with ulcerative colitis had found rates generally half that rate but notably included patients with milder presentations of ulcerative colitis.  Thus, this rate of 31% (by 1 year after discharge) is useful information to reference when considering pediatric patients with acute severe colitis (ACS).

This study used datasets from the prospective Outcome of Steroid therapy in Colitis Individuals (OSCI) (n=128) and from the retrospective OSCI study (n=99).

Other results:

  • By day 5 of steroids, 45% had at most mild disease (ie PUCAI <35)
  • 31% had failed IV steroids and required salvage therapy (biologic or calcineurin inhibitor)
  • 20% had colectomy by discharge
  • When examining steroid dosage and outcomes, the authors could not discern any differences in need for salvage therapy, PUCAI <35 at day 5, or need for salvage therapy within 1 year. There was a mild difference in length of stay with 9 days in the low-dose group and 10-days in the high dose group.

My take: This large cohort provides some reassurance that current steroid dosing recommendations are probably right, in that there was no discernible improvement with higher doses.  This is in agreement with previous studies in adults which have not shown advantages of methylprednisolone >60 mg/day.  The high colectomy rate of 31% is worth keeping in mind in this population.

Related blog posts:

NewAbxDiscovered

 

IBD School Videos for Patients and Families

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While these “IBD School” YouTube videos have been around for several years, I only became aware of them in the past few months.  I think they are good patient education resources.

Here are some links to a few of them:

There are a lot of these videos including the following:

My take: these videos are generally ~4 minutes and a good way to get a lot of information on IBD pretty quickly.

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Ozanimod for Ulcerative Colitis

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The results of a phase 2 trial for Ozanimod have been published: WJ Sandborn et al. NEJM 2016; 374; 1754-62.

Ozanimod (RPC1063) is “an oral agonist of the sphingosine-1-phosphate receptor subtypes 1 and 5 that induces peripheral lymphocyte sequestration, potentially decreasing the number of activated lymphocytes circulating to the gastrointestinal tract.”

From the abstract:

METHODS

We conducted a double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 trial of ozanimod in 197 adults with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis. Patients were randomly assigned, in a 1:1:1 ratio, to receive ozanimod at a dose of 0.5 mg or 1 mg or placebo daily for up to 32 weeks. The Mayo Clinic score was used to measure disease activity on a scale from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating more severe disease; subscores range from 0 to 3, with higher scores indicating more severe disease. The primary outcome was clinical remission (Mayo Clinic score ≤2, with no subscore >1) at 8 weeks.

RESULTS

The primary outcome occurred in 16% of the patients who received 1 mg of ozanimod and in 14% of those who received 0.5 mg of ozanimod, as compared with 6% of those who received placebo (P=0.048 and P=0.14, respectively, for the comparison of the two doses of ozanimod with placebo). Differences in the primary outcome between the group that received 0.5 mg of ozanimod and the placebo group were not significant; therefore, the hierarchical testing plan deemed the analyses of secondary outcomes exploratory. Clinical response (decrease in Mayo Clinic score of ≥3 points and ≥30% and decrease in rectal-bleeding subscore of ≥1 point or a subscore ≤1) at 8 weeks occurred in 57% of those receiving 1 mg of ozanimod and 54% of those receiving 0.5 mg, as compared with 37% of those receiving placebo. At week 32, the rate of clinical remission was 21% in the group that received 1 mg of ozanimod, 26% in the group that received 0.5 mg of ozanimod, and 6% in the group that received placebo; the rate of clinical response was 51%, 35%, and 20%, respectively. At week 8, absolute lymphocyte counts declined 49% from baseline in the group that received 1 mg of ozanimod and 32% from baseline in the group that received 0.5 mg. The most common adverse events overall were anemia and headache.

CONCLUSIONS

In this preliminary trial, ozanimod at a daily dose of 1 mg resulted in a slightly higher rate of clinical remission of ulcerative colitis than placebo. The trial was not large enough or of sufficiently long duration to establish clinical efficacy or assess safety. (Funded by Receptos; TOUCHSTONE ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01647516.)

Ozanimod

Related blog post: CCFA Conference Notes 2016 (part 5) -Emerging Therapies …

 

More on Anti-TNF Drug Levels (part 2) and a Few Mentions

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Another study (K Papamichael et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 14: 543-9) examined therapeutic drug levels with regard to infliximab induction and mucosal healing.

In this retrospective study with 101 patients with ulcerative colitis, 54 (53.4%) achieved mucosal healing between weeks 10-14, defined by a Mayo endoscopic score of 0 or 1.  97% of patients were treated with 5 mg/kg infusions.

Key finding:

  • Infliximab threshold concentrations of 28.3 mcg/mL at week 2, 15 mcg/mL at week 6, and 2.1 mcg/mL at week 14 were associated with mucosal healing.

My take: While this study provides information on what type of levels to expect at 2, 6, and 14 weeks, what is really important is figuring out which patients need higher doses of infusions from the start.

Unrelated, briefly noted:

R Yadlapati et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 14: 535-42. In this prospective blinded cohort study of 59 subjects, oropharyngeal pH testing (Restech Dx-pH) and salivary pepsin analysis was not able to distinguish between healthy volunteers and subjects with a combination of laryngeal and reflux symptoms.

M Moris et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 14: 585-93. This study reports increasing findings of small pancreatic cysts with more (and better) MRI imaging.

Y Kawamura et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2016; 14: 597-605. This retrospective study shows, among almost 10,000 patients with fatty liver disease, that alcohol consumption of ≥40 g/day is an independent risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma.

Strongloides