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NCT Number: NCT03414502

Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis With DMARDs: Predictors of Response

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common disease with approximately 1% prevalence. RA is also a chronic, progressive disease with no cure. Current treatment goals are to minimize pain, limit joint damage, and prevent loss of function. Drugs used to treat RA include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), glucocorticoids, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including biologics. Methotrexate (MTX) is the DMARD of choice in the treatment of RA, because it has been shown to be both well-tolerated and effective in achieving clinical response and slowing radiographic progression of disease. However, this drug alone results in remissions in only a small subset of patients and reliable predictors of DMARD response have yet to be identified.

This study is open-label of 16-weeks duration to identify factors that help predict clinical responses to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) therapies for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) participants. All participants will receive a starting dose of DMARD medication(s) which may be adjusted by the investigator as needed. If a participant becomes intolerant of a DMARD medication, the participant will be withdrawn at the discretion of the investigator. Necessary withdrawals prior to week 16 visits will be considered end of study. Otherwise, end of study data as well as study serum will be collected at week 16. A portion of the blood collected at baseline, week 8 and week 16 for the optional addendum portion of the study is for future research and will be utilized attempting to look to detect the generation of superoxide radicals. These radicals have been shown to be associated with inflammation and may correlate with the progression of RA, which if confirmed, should decrease the levels of these radicals signaling response to treatment.

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Key information

Conditions

Rheumatoid Arthritis Arthritis Arthritis, Rheumatoid Autoimmune Diseases Connective Tissue Diseases Immune System Diseases Joint Diseases Musculoskeletal Diseases Rheumatic Diseases Skin and Connective Tissue Diseases

Age range

19 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Phase 3

Primary location

About this study

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common disease with approximately 1% prevalence. RA is also a chronic, progressive disease with no cure. Current treatment goals are to minimize pain, limit joint damage, and prevent loss of function. Drugs used to treat RA include non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), glucocorticoids, and disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs), including biologics. Methotrexate (MTX) is the DMARD of choice in the treatment of RA, because it has been shown to be both well-tolerated and effective in achieving clinical response and slowing radiographic progression of disease. However, this drug alone results in remissions in only a small subset of patients and reliable predictors of DMARD response have yet to be identified.

Investigators have examined the discriminatory characteristics of several clinical and biologic parameters in predicting treatment response (at least 50% improvement based on American College of Rheumatology criteria), including rheumatoid factor (RF) isotypes (particularly Immunoglobulin A (IgA) and Immunoglobulin M (IgM), matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3, human leukocyte antigen-DR isotope (HLA-DRB1) shared epitope (SE)-containing alleles, C-reactive protein, and interleukin (IL)-1.

The purpose of the study is to prospectively gather information on participants with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and their response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) therapy. Specifically, to evaluate the efficacy of DMARD therapy as defined by attaining American College of Rheumatology 50 (ACR50) response after 16 weeks of therapy and to identify predictors of DMARD response, such as genetic factors, serological factors or co-morbid conditions. A maximum of 400 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) participants will be enrolled in this 16-week, open-label study. Adult males and females will be enrolled, but RA is approximately three times more common in females.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosed rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with 4 of 7 American College of Rheumatology criteria
  • Morning stiffness for at least 1 hour for at least 6 weeks
  • Swelling of 3 or more joints for at least 6 weeks
  • Swelling of wrist, metacarpophalangeal (MCP), or proximal interphalangeal joints for 6 or more weeks
  • Symmetric joint swelling
  • Hand x-rays with erosions or bony decalcifications
  • RA nodules
  • Rheumatoid factor (RF) positive
  • >19 yrs old at RA diagnosis
  • Active disease with at least 1 swollen joint
  • Starting new DMARD medication(s) (abatacept, adalimumab, azathioprine, barcitinib, certolizumab, etanercept, golimumab, hydroxychloroquine, infliximab, leflunomide, methotrexate, minocycline, rituximab, sarilumab, sulfasalazine, tofacitinib)
  • If on other DMARDS, must be on stable dose for ≥ 6 wks
  • If on glucocorticoids, must be on stable dose for 2 wks (< 10mg of Prednisone/day or equivalent)
  • Able to adhere to study visit schedule: enrollment (8 wks & 16 wks +/- 2 wks)
  • Hemoglobin (Hgb) > 9g/dl
  • Platelets >100
  • Creatinine <1.6
  • Aspartate transferase (AST) or alanine aminotransferase (ALT) at or below 1.2 x upper limit
  • Albumin up to 1.0 g/dL below lower limit of normal

Exclusion criteria

  • Pregnant or breastfeeding women
  • Men and women of child bearing potential unwilling to practice effective method of contraception

Treatment and study plan

methotrexate

Drug

Starting dose of Methotrexate of 15 mg once a week plus folic acid 1mg daily.

Other names: Methotrexate (MTX)

Abatacept

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Orencia

Adalimumab

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Humira

azathioprine

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Imuran

Baricitinib

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Olimuant

Certolizumab

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Cimzia

etanercept

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Enbrel

Golimumab

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Simponi

Hydroxychloroquine

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Plaquenil

Infliximab

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Remicade

leflunomide

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Arava

Minocycline

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Minocin

Rituximab

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Rituxin

Sarilumab

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Kevzara

Sulfasalazine

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Azulfidine

tofacitinib

Drug

Starting dose may be adjusted as needed at investigator's discretion.

Other names: Xeljanz

Primary outcomes

  1. Efficacy of Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis

    Time frame: 16 weeks

    The efficacy of the disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) in the study will be determined using the American College of Rheumatology 50 (ACR50). This is a composite measure defined as both improvement of 50% in the number of tender and number of swollen joints, and a 50% improvement in three of the following five criteria: patient global assessment, physician global assessment, functional ability measure [most often Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ)], visual analog pain scale, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein (CRP).

Secondary outcomes

  1. Genetic factors as Predictors of Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Response

    Time frame: 16 weeks

    Based on American College of Rheumatology 50 (ACR50) composite measure after 16 weeks of treatment, the number of participants will be determined that have genetic factors, such as the shared epitope, that demonstrate a 50% improvement in the number of tender and swollen joints, and a 50% improvement in three of five criteria: patient global assessment, physician global assessment, functional ability measure (most often Health Assessment Questionnaire/HAQ), visual analog pain scale and erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein (CRP).

  2. Serological Factors as Predictors of Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Response

    Time frame: 16 weeks

    Based on American College of Rheumatology 50 (ACR50) composite measure after 16 weeks of treatment, the number of participants will be determined that have serological factors, such as cyclic citrullinated peptide (CCP) isotypes, that demonstrate a 50% improvement in the number of tender and swollen joints, and a 50% improvement in three of five criteria: patient global assessment, physician global assessment, functional ability measure (most often Health Assessment Questionnaire/HAQ), visual analog pain scale and erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein (CRP).

  3. Co-morbid Conditions as Predictors of Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs Response

    Time frame: 16 weeks

    Based on American College of Rheumatology 50 (ACR50) composite measure after 16 weeks of treatment, the number of participants will be determined that have co-morbid conditions, such as periodontal disease, that demonstrate a 50% improvement in the number of tender and swollen joints, and a 50% improvement in three of five criteria: patient global assessment, physician global assessment, functional ability measure (most often Health Assessment Questionnaire/HAQ), visual analog pain scale and erythrocyte sedimentation rate or C-reactive protein (CRP).

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Aimee B Schreiner, MS

CONTACT

[email protected]

402-559-4873

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University of Nebraska

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Treatment of Rheumatoid Arthritis With Disease-modifying Antirheumatic Drugs (DMARDs): Predictors of Response

Important dates

Study start
2007
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2029
First posted
Jan 30, 2018
Registry last updated
Jun 17, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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