Trial reportArthritis care & research2015
Sustainable Efficacy of Switching From Intravenous to Subcutaneous Tocilizumab Monotherapy in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Trial report in Arthritis care & research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Effect of Interleukin-6 Inhibitors on Rheumatoid Arthritis Pain: Overview of Evidence and Mechanistic Pathways.Pharmacology research & perspectives · 2026Review
- Association between body weight and tocilizumab effectiveness in rheumatoid arthritis: results from the BSRBR-RA.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2025Article
- Towards Personalized Medicine in Rheumatoid Arthritis.Open access rheumatology : research and reviews · 2024Review
- Predictive Factors for Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare After Switching From Intravenous to Subcutaneous Formulation of Tocilizumab in Real-World Practice.Journal of Korean medical science · 2022Article
- Real-world evidence on methotrexate-free subcutaneous tocilizumab therapy in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: 24-week data from the SIMPACT study.Rheumatology advances in practice · 2022Article
- Subcutaneous Sarilumab in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis who Previously Received Subcutaneous Sarilumab or Intravenous Tocilizumab: An Open-Label Extension of a Randomized Clinical Trial.ACR open rheumatology · 2020Article
- Retention of tocilizumab with and without methotrexate during maintenance therapy for rheumatoid arthritis: the ACTRA-RI cohort study.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2019Article
- Tocilizumab Effectiveness After Switching from Intravenous to Subcutaneous Route in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: The RoSwitch Study.Rheumatology and therapy · 2019Article
- A Review of Recent Advances Using Tocilizumab in the Treatment of Rheumatic Diseases.Rheumatology and therapy · 2018Review
- Long-term effectiveness of tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, stratified by number of previous treatment failures with biologic agents: results from the German RABBIT cohort.Rheumatology international · 2018Observational
- Comparative effectiveness of subcutaneous tocilizumab versus intravenous tocilizumab in a pan-European collaboration of registries.RMD open · 2018Article
- Are abatacept and tocilizumab intravenous users willing to switch for the subcutaneous route of administration? A questionnaire-based study.Clinical rheumatology · 2017Observational
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
23 authors at 18 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo evaluate the efficacy and safety of switching from intravenous (IV) tocilizumab (TCZ) to subcutaneous (SC) TCZ monotherapy in rheumatoid arthritis patients.
methodsPatients who had completed 24 weeks of TCZ-SC (162 mg/2 weeks) or TCZ-IV (8 mg/kg/4 weeks) monotherapy in the double-blind period of the MUSASHI study were enrolled in an 84-week open-label extension period. All received TCZ-SC (162 mg/2 weeks) monotherapy. Effects of the IV to SC switch were evaluated at week 36 (12 weeks after switching).
resultsOverall, 319 patients received ≥1 dose of TCZ-SC during the open-label extension period; 160 switched from TCZ-IV to TCZ-SC (TCZ IV/SC) and 159 continued TCZ-SC (TCZ SC/SC). Disease Activity Score in 28 joints using the erythrocyte sedimentation rate clinical remission rates were 62.5% (100 of 160) for TCZ IV/SC and 50.0% (79 of 158) for TCZ SC/SC at week 24, and were maintained at 62.5% (100 of 160) and 57.0% (90 of 158), respectively, at week 36. In the TCZ IV/SC group, 9% of patients (9 of 100) who had achieved remission at week 24 could not maintain remission at week 36. In TCZ IV/SC patients weighing ≥70 kg, the percentage with a sufficient serum TCZ concentration (≥1 μg/ml) decreased from 90.9% (10 of 11) at week 24 to 45.5% (5 of 11) at week 36. Overall safety profiles were similar in TCZ IV/SC and TCZ SC/SC except for mild injection site reactions in TCZ IV/SC.
conclusionEfficacy is adequately maintained in most patients switching from TCZ-IV (8 mg/kg/4 weeks) to TCZ-SC (162 mg/2 weeks) monotherapy. Patients receiving TCZ-IV can switch to TCZ-SC without serious safety concerns. Clinical efficacy may be reduced after switching in some patients with high body weight.
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