What is the best biological treatment for rheumatoid arthritis? A systematic review of effectiveness

AIM:To evaluate the effectiveness of the biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs(b DMARD) in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis through a systematic review of observational studies.METHODS:The studies were searched in the Pub Med,EMBASE,Cochrane Controlled Trials Register and LILACS databases(until August 2014),in the grey literature and conducted a manual search.The assessed criteria of effectiveness included the EULAR,the disease activity score(DAS),the Clinical Disease Activity Index,the Simplified Disease Activity Index,the American College of Rheumatology and the Health Assessment Questionnaire.The meta-analysis was performed with Review Manager 5.2 software using a random effects model.A total of 35 studies were included in this review.RESULTS:The participants anti-tumor necrosis factor inhibitors(TNF) nave,who used adalimumab(P = 0.0002) and etanercept(P = 0.0006) exhibited greater good EULAR response compared to the participants who used infliximab.No difference was detected between adalimumab and etanercept(P = 0.05).The participants who used etanercept exhibited greater remission according to DAS28 compared to the participants who used infliximab(P = 0.01).No differences were detected between adalimumab and infliximab(P = 0.12) or etanercept(P = 0.79).Better results were obtained with b DMARD associated with methotrexate than with b DMARD alone.The good EULAR response and DAS 28 was better for combination with methotrexate than b DMARD monotherapy(P = 0.03 e P < 0.00001).In cases of therapeutic failure,the participants who used rituximab exhibited greater DAS28 reduction compared to those who used anti-TNF agents(P = 0.0002).The participants who used etanercept achieved greater good EULAR response compared to those who did not use that drug(P = 0.007).Studies that assessed reduction of the CDAI score indicated the superiority of abatacept over rituximab(12.4 vs +1.7) and anti-TNF agents(7.6 vs 8.3).The present systematic review with meta-analysis found that relative to anti-TNF treatmentnave patients,adalimumab and etanercept were more effective when combined with methotrexate than when used alone.Furthermore,in case of therapeutic failure with anti-TNF agents;rituximab and abatacept(non anti-TNF) and etanercept(as second anti-TNF) were more effective.However,more studies of effectiveness were found for the rituximab.CONCLUSION:The best treatment for treatment-nave patients is adalimumab or etanercept combined with methotrexate.For anti-TNF therapeutic failure,the best choice is rituximab,abatacept or etanercept.