Baseline disease status

Abstract

Treatment with rituximab may reduce disease activity in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). The current dosing schedule of rituximab 2×1000 mg has been shown to induce and maintain a clinical response in initial responders and is also protective against progression of joint destruction.1–4 Recently, the treatment schedules of 2×1000 mg and 2×500 mg rituximab were compared side-by-side in early active RA patients.4 It was shown that only initial treatment with 2×1000 mg rituximab resulted in statistically signifi cant protection against progres-sion of structural damage, whereas 2×500 mg and 2×1000 mg resulted in comparable clinical effi cacy. Exploratory analysis suggested that re-treatment with 2×500 mg rituximab after 6 Biological treatment of rheumatoid arthritis: towards a more cost-effective re-treatment regimen using rituximab

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