ArticleACR open rheumatology2022
Randomized Trial of Tocilizumab in the Treatment of Refractory Adult Polymyositis and Dermatomyositis.
Article in ACR open rheumatology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
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
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 34 citations in OpenAlex.
- Non-targeted immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Targeted immunosuppressive and immunomodulatory therapies for idiopathic inflammatory myopathies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2025Pooled it
- Trial
- Flares and definition of worsening in inflammatory myopathies: a narrative review of the literature.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Review
- Successful treatment of refractory focal eosinophilic myositis with extra-ocular muscle involvement using tocilizumab: a case report.Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Targeted Therapy for Idiopathic Inflammatory Myopathy.Journal of cachexia, sarcopenia and muscle · 2025Review
- Integrative Approaches to Myopathies and Muscular Dystrophies: Molecular Mechanisms, Diagnostics, and Future Therapies.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Immune cell senescence in autoimmunity: implications for disease pathogenesis and therapeutic targeting.Frontiers in immunology · 2025Review
- Treatment Algorithms for Inflammatory Myopathies in Adults: from Guidelines to Clinical Practice.Current treatment options in rheumatology · 2025Article
- Development of differential diagnostic models for distinguishing between limb-girdle muscular dystrophy and idiopathic inflammatory myopathy.Arthritis research & therapy · 2024Article
- Pharmacological Strategies in Dermatomyositis: Current Treatments and Future Directions.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2024Review
- A comprehensive review of dermatomyositis treatments - from rediscovered classics to promising horizons.Expert review of clinical immunology · 2024Review
- Biological Therapies in Inflammatory Myopathies.Rambam Maimonides medical journal · 2023Review
- Pruritogenic molecules in the skin of patients with dermatomyositis.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Article
- Targeting intracellular pathways in idiopathic inflammatory myopathies: A narrative review.Frontiers in medicine · 2023Review
- Tocilizumab Treatment in a Patient of Refractory Anti-EJ Positive ASyS: A Case Report.Journal of investigative medicine high impact case reportsArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
14 authors at 7 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the efficacy and tolerability of tocilizumab in a multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in refractory adult patients with dermatomyositis (DM) and polymyositis (PM).
methodsThirty-six subjects with probable or definite DM/PM were enrolled in a 6-month phase 2B clinical trial and randomized 1:1 to receive tocilizumab (8 mg/kg intravenously) or placebo every 4 weeks for 24 weeks. Eligible subjects had either a DM rash, a myositis-associated autoantibody or an adjudicated PM diagnosis. Active disease was defined by at least three of six abnormal core set measures (CSMs), including a manual muscle testing (MMT)-8 score of less than 136/150. If the MMT-8 score was greater than 136, then a cutaneous score of 3 or more (10 cm visual analogue scale) was required along with three additional abnormal CSMs indicating disease activity. The primary endpoint compared the Total Improvement Score (TIS) between both arms from week 4 to 24. Secondary outcomes included time to meeting minimal TIS improvement, changes in CSMs, time to worsening, steroid-sparing effect, proportion of subjects meeting more stringent improvement criteria, and safety outcomes.
resultsThere was no significant difference (P = 0.86) in the TIS over 24 weeks between tocilizumab and placebo arms. The secondary endpoints of time to improvement (minimal, moderate, or major), time to worsening, CSM changes, safety outcomes, and steroid-sparing effect were also not significantly different between arms.
conclusionTocilizumab was safe and well tolerated but did not meet the primary or secondary efficacy outcomes in refractory DM and PM in this 24-week phase 2B study.
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.