Autoinflammatory & rare systemic diseases
Effects of first-line biologic immunomodulation compared with non-biologic therapies in adult-onset Still’s disease: a two-center cohort study
Authors' conclusion
First-line biological treatment is associated with improved sustained event-free remission compared to non-biologic treatments, such as MTX, CNI and JAKi and associated with more favorable long-term outcomes in AOSD.
Study context
- Population
- Adults with adult-onset Still's disease (AOSD), Shanghai and Erlangen cohorts, real-world settings96 Shanghai, 28 Erlangen
- Participants
- 124 adults
- Exposure
- First-line biologics vs non-biologic therapies
- Outcome
- Sustained event-free remission
- Follow-up
- 12 and 72 weeks
Methodological detailstwo-center, overlap weighting of propensity scores, target trial emulation, doubly robust weighted regression
- Two-center
- Overlap weighting of propensity scores
- Target trial emulation
- Doubly robust weighted regression
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
- Biologics vs Non-biologic: P = 0.0065
- Biologics vs Non-biologic: P = 0.0096
- Overlap-weighted analyses
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
| Outcome | OR, sustained event-free remission at week 72 (as printed; reference group not stated) | P value |
|---|---|---|
| Event-free state and sustained event-free remission (pooled analysis) · weeks 12 and 72Biologics vs Non-biologic · higher likelihood with biologics | all P < 0.05 | |
| Sustained event-free remission, pairwise comparisons (pooled) · week 72Biologics vs CNI · reported as an advantage of biologics | 0.11 | P = 0.001 |
| Sustained event-free remission, pairwise comparisons (pooled) · week 72Biologics vs MTX · reported as a significant benefit of biologics | 0.12 | P = 0.002 |
| Sustained event-free remission, pairwise comparisons (pooled) · week 72Biologics vs JAKi · reported as a significant benefit of biologics | 0.14 | P = 0.008 |
| Glucocorticoid discontinuation (pairwise, pooled)Biologics vs MTX · more frequent GC discontinuation with biologics | both p < 0.05 | |
| Glucocorticoid discontinuation (pairwise, pooled)Biologics vs CNI · more frequent GC discontinuation with biologics | both p < 0.05 |
Event-free state and sustained event-free remission (pooled analysis) · weeks 12 and 72
- Biologics linked to higher likelihood of event-free state and sustained event-free remission at weeks 12 and 72
Original publication
Effects of first-line biologic immunomodulation compared with non-biologic therapies in adult-onset Still’s disease: a two-center cohort study. Arthritis Res Ther. Published 20 July 2026. doi:10.
Composed by AI from the published abstract and checked against it. How Briefs are made →