Real-world evidence of tofacitinib effectiveness and safety in patients with refractory ulcerative colitis.

Background: Phase III trials demonstrated effectiveness of tofacitinib, an oral Janus kinase inhibitor, to induce and maintain remission in patients with moderate-to-severe active ulcerative colitis (UC).

Aims: We report the real-world effectiveness and safety of tofacitinib in patients with UC in France.

Methods: From February 2017 to December 2018, we performed a national French cohort study, which included all consecutive patients with an active UC refractory to anti-TNF and vedolizumab, who received tofacitinib. Outcomes were survival without colectomy, survival without tofacitinib discontinuation and steroid-free clinical remission at weeks 14, 24 and 48.

Results: Thirty-eight patients were included, with a median follow-up of 41.5 (18.5-56.8) weeks. Survival without colectomy was 77% [95% confidence interval (95%CI): 59.3-87.9] at week 24 and 70% (95%CI: 50.9-82.8) at week 48. Survival without treatment discontinuation was 70% (95%CI: 52.6-82.3) at week 24. Steroid-free clinical remission was observed in 13 (34%) patients at week 48. Adverse events occurred in 14 (37%) patients, including 6 severe adverse events and three herpes zoster infections.

Conclusion: In a highly refractory UC population, one third of patients treated with tofacitinib achieved steroid-free clinical remission at week 14 and 70% of patients avoided colectomy at one year, with an acceptable safety profile. These data confirm tofacitinib effectiveness in UC, especially after multiple biologic failures.