Real-world effectiveness and safety of ustekinumab for the treatment of refractory Crohn's disease: The Scottish ustekinumab cohort

Abstract Background Ustekinumab (UST) is an anti-IL12/23 biologic licensed for the treatment of moderate to severe Crohn’s disease (CD). The aims of this study were to establish the long-term real-world effectiveness and safety of UST for the treatment of CD in a large UK cohort. Methods This was a multicentre retrospective cohort study , including 7 NHS health-boards in Scotland. Patients treated with UST between November 2015 and June 2019 were identified. Inclusion criteria included: a diagnosis of CD; active symptoms attributed to CD with objective evidence of mucosal inflammation (CRP >5mg/l or faecal calprotectin ≥250 µg/g or inflammation on endoscopy/ MRI); and completion of induction with a minimum of 8 weeks follow-up. Clinical assessments were performed based on physician global assessment (response was defined as ≥50% reduction in CD-related symptoms and remission defined as complete resolution of all CD-related symptoms). Mucosal healing was defined as the absence of ulceration/erosions on ileo-colonoscopy or no inflammation on MRI if ileo-colonoscopy was not possible (eg. B2 disease). Deep remission was defined as clinical remission plus mucosal healing. Rates of serious adverse events (discontinuation of UST, hospitalisation or death) during follow-up were described quantitively. Results A total of 207 patients (43% male; median age 39.2 years, IQR 28.9–51.4; median disease duration 10.0 years, IQR 5.7–16.6) with a median follow-up of 34.6 weeks (IQR 16.9–52.1) were included. The majority of patients had ileocolonic disease (L1, 19.3%; L2, 23.7%; L3, 57%) and an inflammatory phenotype (B1, 43.0%; B2, 41.1%; B3, 15.9%). A total of 98.6% of patients had previously been exposed to a biologic and 55.1 % had undergone previous surgery. Seventy-one per cent of patients received Q8 maintenance dosing, whilst 25.6% and 42.0% of patients were also receiving an immunomodulator (IMM) and steroids at initiation, respectively. At week 8, clinical response and remission rates were 51.7% and 5.8%, respectively. Twelve-month cumulative rates of clinical remission, mucosal healing (n = 116) and deep remission (n = 116) were 29.8%, 35.3% and 17.9%, respectively (Figure 1). During 155 patient-years of follow-up (PYF), 11 patients experienced a serious adverse event (7.1 per 100 PYF). Conclusion We have shown in a large real-world cohort of complex, treatment-refractory CD patients that UST is a safe and effective treatment option.