ArticleLupus science & medicine2023
Belimumab versus anifrolumab in adults with systemic lupus erythematosus: an indirect comparison of clinical response at 52 weeks.
Article in Lupus science & medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Methodological concerns and data discrepancies in the indirect treatment comparison of belimumab and anifrolumab.Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2026Article
- Glucocorticoid tapering and clinical outcomes during belimumab treatment in systemic lupus erythematosus: a retrospective real-world cohort study with exploratory renal analyses.BMC rheumatology · 2026Article
- Subgroups based on autoantibody status associated with clinical manifestations,Frontiers in immunology · 2026Article
- Lessons Learnt from the Belimumab Trials in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Clinical, humanistic, and economic burden of systemic lupus erythematosus in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Cost effectiveness and resource allocation : C/E · 2025Review
- Evolving Concepts in Treat-to-Target Strategies for Systemic Lupus Erythematosus.Mediterranean journal of rheumatology · 2024Review
- Clinical trial outcomes for SLE: what we have and what we need.Lupus science & medicine · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors at 7 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo generate comparative efficacy evidence of belimumab versus anifrolumab in SLE that can inform treatment practices.
methodsThe SLE Responder Index (SRI)-4 response at 52 weeks of belimumab versus anifrolumab was evaluated with an indirect treatment comparison. The evidence base consisted of randomised trials that were compiled through a systemic literature review.A feasibility assessment was performed to comprehensively compare the eligible trials and to determine the most appropriate indirect treatment comparison analysis method. A multilevel network meta-regression (ML-NMR) was implemented that adjusted for differences across trials in four baseline characteristics: SLE Disease Activity Index-2K, anti-double-stranded DNA antibody positive, low complement (C)3 and low C4. Additional analyses were conducted to explore if the results were robust to different sets of baseline characteristics included for adjustment, alternative adjustment methods and changes to the trials included in the evidence base.
resultsThe ML-NMR included eight trials: five belimumab trials (BLISS-52, BLISS-76, NEA, BLISS-SC, EMBRACE) and three anifrolumab trials (MUSE, TULIP-1, TULIP-2). Belimumab and anifrolumab were comparable in terms of SRI-4 response (OR (95% credible interval), 1.04 (0.74-1.45)), with the direction of the point estimate slightly favouring belimumab. Belimumab had a 0.58 probability of being the more effective treatment. The results were highly consistent across all analysis scenarios.
conclusionsOur results suggest that the SRI-4 response of belimumab and anifrolumab are similar at 52 weeks in the general SLE population, but the level of uncertainty around the point estimate means we cannot rule out the possibility of a clinically meaningful benefit for either treatment. It remains to be seen if specific groups of patients could derive a greater benefit from anifrolumab or from belimumab, and there is certainly an unmet need to identify robust predictors towards more personalised selection of available biological agents in SLE.
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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.