BACKGROUND: In patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), persistent inflammation and increasing disease activity are associated with increased risk of adverse events (AEs). OBJECTIVES: To assess relationships between RA disease activity and AEs of interest in patients treated with tofacitinib or tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi). DESIGN: This was a post hoc analysis of a long-term, postauthorization safety endpoint trial of tofacitinib versus TNFi. METHODS: In ORAL Surveillance, 4362 patients aged ⩾50 years with active RA despite methotrexate, and ⩾1 additional cardiovascular (CV) risk factor, were randomized 1:1:1 to tofacitinib 5 or 10 mg twice daily or TNFi for up to 72 months. Post hoc time-dependent multivariable Cox analysis evaluated the relationships between disease activity [Clinical Disease Activity Index (CDAI)], inflammation [C-reactive protein (CRP)], and AEs of interest. The AEs included major adverse CV events (MACE), malignancies excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC), venous thromboembolism (VTE), serious infections, herpes zoster (HZ), nonserious infections excluding HZ (NSI), and death. RESULTS: Across treatments, risk for NSI was higher when patients had CDAI-defined active disease versus remission; MACE and VTE risks trended higher, but did not reach significance. Hazard ratios for MACE, malignancies excluding NMSC, VTE, infections, and death rose by 2-9% for each 5-mg/L increment in serum CRP. The interaction terms evaluating the impact of treatment assignment on the relationship between disease activity and AEs were all p > 0.05. CONCLUSION: In ORAL Surveillance, higher NSI risk was observed in the presence of active RA versus remission. The risk of MACE and VTE directionally increased in active disease versus remission, although statistical power was limited due to small event numbers in these categories. The relationship between active disease and AEs was not impacted by treatment with tofacitinib versus TNFi. REGISTRATION: NCT02092467.

Objectives

Evaluate risk of major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) with tofacitinib versus tumour necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFi) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) with or without a history of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) in ORAL Surveillance.

Methods

Patients with RA aged ≥50 years with ≥1 additional CV risk factor received tofacitinib 5 mg or 10 mg two times per day or TNFi. Hazard rations (HRs) were evaluated for the overall population and by history of ASCVD (exploratory analysis).

Results

Risk of MACE, myocardial infarction and sudden cardiac death were increased with tofacitinib versus TNFi in ORAL Surveillance. In patients with history of ASCVD (14.7%; 640/4362), MACE incidence was higher with tofacitinib 5 mg two times per day (8.3%; 17/204) and 10 mg two times per day (7.7%; 17/222) versus TNFi (4.2%; 9/214). HR (combined tofacitinib doses vs TNFi) was 1.98 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.95 to 4.14; interaction p values: 0.196 (for HR)/0.059 (for incidence rate difference)). In patients without history of ASCVD, MACE HRs for tofacitinib 5 mg two times per day (2.4%; 30/1251) and 10 mg two times per day (2.8%; 34/1234) versus TNFi (2.3%; 28/1237) were, respectively, 1.03 (0.62 to 1.73) and 1.25 (0.76 to 2.07).

Conclusions

This post hoc analysis observed higher MACE risk with tofacitinib versus TNFi in patients with RA and history of ASCVD. Among patients without history of ASCVD, all with prevalent CV risk factors, MACE risk did not appear different with tofacitinib 5 mg two times per day versus TNFi. Due to the exploratory nature of this analysis and low statistical power, we cannot exclude differential MACE risk for tofacitinib 5 mg two times per day versus TNFi among patients without history of ASCVD, but any absolute risk excess is likely low.

Trial registration number

NCT02092467.