P512 Efficacy of tofacitinib for the treatment of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis: real-world data

Y. XIAO1, P.L. Lakatos2, R. Bourdages3, A. Bitton2, W. Afif2, R. Kohen2, M. Berberi3, T. Bessissow2

1Division of Internal Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 2Division of Gastroenterology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada, 3Division of Gastroenterology, Hopital Hotel-Dieu de Lévis, Quebec City, Canada

Background

A significant proportion of patients do not respond to therapy for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC), including thiopurines, glucocorticoids, and antagonists to tumour necrosis factor-a and integrin. Tofacitinib, a Janus Kinase inhibitor, has emerged as an efficacious and safe treatment for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis. However, data on its real-life efficacy remains sparse.

Methods

We aimed to assess the rate of clinical response and clinical remission at 3 and 6 months after tofacitinib initiation. Secondary endpoints included the rate of biomarker normalisation, corticosteroids-free clinical remission and severe infections. We conducted a multi-centre retrospective observational study of adult patients with active UC started on tofacitinib from January 1, 2015 to October 1, 2019 at the McGill University Health Center and Hotel-Dieu de Lévis. A positive clinical response was defined as a decrease of ≥3 in the partial Mayo score. Clinical remission was defined as partial Mayo score of ≤2. Biomarker normalisation was defined as faecal calprotectin ≤250 μg/g. Severe infection was defined as an infection requiring hospitalisation.

Results

During the study period, 40 patients with UC were started on tofacitinib at 10 mg/kg twice a day. Amongst the patients, 85% (n = 34) had failed ≥1 biologic and 50% (n = 20) had failed ≥3 biologics. At the time of this preliminary analysis, 38 patients had undergone 3 months of treatment; 30 patients had undergone 6 months of treatment. At 3 months, a clinical response was seen in 89.5% of patients (n = 34) and clinical remission occurred in 63.2%(n = 24). At 6 months, clinical response occurred in 73.3% of patients (n = 22) and clinical remission was sustained in 53.33% (n = 16). Biochemical normalisation occurred in 29.0% (n = 11) and 30.0% (n = 9) at 3 and 6 months respectively. Additionally, 63.2% (n = 24) of patients and 43.3% (n = 13) of patients achieved steroid-free clinical remission at 3 and 6 months respectively. In the interim, one patient developed a serious infection requiring discontinuation of the drug.

Conclusion

Our preliminary analysis demonstrates that in a real-life setting, tofacitinib is an effective treatment for inducing clinical remission in refractory UC patients. Further data will be complied to better assess the efficacy over a longer follow-up.