Tocilizumab in Giant Cell Arteritis: A Real-Life Retrospective Study

This study aims to evaluate (1) the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) as a steroid-sparing agent in patients with giant cell arteritis (GCA) and (2) the usefulness of ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) in the follow-up and to detect disease activity. We retrospectively evaluated 12 patients with GCA treated with TCZ (8 mg/kg/mo). Pre- and posttherapy data about clinical signs and symptoms, laboratory results, FDG-PET imaging study, and the mean glucocorticoid (GC) dose were used to assess disease activity. Tocilizumab achieved complete disease remission in all patients. Mean FDG-PET-detected standard uptake value decreased from 2.05 ± 0.64 to 1.78 ± 0.45 ( P = .005). In 2 patients in whom temporal arteries color Doppler sonography examination was consistent with temporal arteritis, the hypoechoic halo disappeared after TCZ treatment. Mean GC dose was tapered from 26.6 ± 13.4 mg/d to 3.3 ± 3.1 mg/d ( P < .0001). One-half of the patients discontinued GC therapy. Three patients experienced severe adverse reactions and had to stop TCZ therapy. In accordance with previous reports, TCZ is an effective steroid-sparing agent for GCA, although careful monitoring of adverse drug reactions is needed. ¹⁸F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography could be used to monitor disease activity in TCZ-treated patients, but prospective studies are needed to confirm these data.