Tocilizumab for faster and safer remission of Takayasu's arteritis

Takayasu's arteritis (TAK) is a large-vessel vasculitis. Glucocorticoids (GCs) combined with cyclophosphamide (CTX) is a common treatment option, but their efficacy is limited. The aim of this retrospective study was to study the efficacy and safety of tocilizumab (TCZ) in the treatment of TAK.

A total of 63 patients with TAK were divided into two groups according to different treatment strategies: 31 patients in the TCZ group and 32 patients in the CTX group. After 6 months of treatment, disease activity and side effects were evaluated and were compared between the two groups.

After 3 months of treatment, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) score (p = 0.005), Indian Takayasu Clinical Activity Score (ITAS) 2010 (p = 0.043), and the Indian Takayasu Activity Score with the Acute-Phase Response (ITAS.A; p = 0.036) were lower in patients treated with TCZ compared with those treated with CTX. In the TCZ group, the proportion of patients with NIH scores ⩽1 reached 50% after 1 month, 90% after 3 months, and 96% after 6 months of treatment, whereas in the CTX group, these proportion were 36%, 30%, and 78%, respectively. Thus, TCZ treatment of TAK is accompanied with a faster remission rate than CTX treatment. Moreover, the total cumulative incidence of adverse events was lower in the TCZ group than in the CTX group (p = 0.035).

TCZ was faster and safer in alleviating TAK.