The New England Journal of Medicine
e-mail icon  FREE NEJM E-TOC    HOME   |   SUBSCRIBE   |   CURRENT ISSUE   |   PAST ISSUES   |   COLLECTIONS   |    Advanced Search
Sign in | Get NEJM's E-Mail Table of Contents — Free | Subscribe
 
Original Article
PreviousPrevious
Volume 337:1029-1036 October 9, 1997 Number 15
NextNext

A Short-Term Study of Chimeric Monoclonal Antibody cA2 to Tumor Necrosis Factor {alpha} for Crohn's Disease
Stephan R. Targan, M.D., Stephen B. Hanauer, M.D., Sander J.H. van Deventer, M.D., Ph.D., Lloyd Mayer, M.D., Daniel H. Present, M.D., Tanja Braakman, M.D., Kimberly L. DeWoody, M.S., Thomas F. Schaible, Ph.D., Paul J. Rutgeerts, M.D., Ph.D., for The Crohn's Disease cA2 Study Group

 Sign up for free e-toc
 

This Article
-Full Text
- PDF

Commentary
-Letters

Tools and Services
-Add to Personal Archive
-Add to Citation Manager
-Notify a Friend
-E-mail When Cited

More Information
-PubMed Citation
ABSTRACT

Background Studies in animals and an open-label trial have suggested a role for antibodies to tumor necrosis factor {alpha}, specifically chimeric monoclonal antibody cA2, in the treatment of Crohn's disease.

Methods We conducted a 12-week multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of cA2 in 108 patients with moderate-to-severe Crohn's disease that was resistant to treatment. All had scores on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index between 220 and 400 (scores can range from 0 to about 600, with higher scores indicating more severe illness). Patients were randomly assigned to receive a single two-hour intravenous infusion of either placebo or cA2 in a dose of 5 mg per kilogram of body weight, 10 mg per kilogram, or 20 mg per kilogram. Clinical response, the primary end point, was defined as a reduction of 70 or more points in the score on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index at four weeks that was not accompanied by a change in any concomitant medications.

Results At four weeks, 81 percent of the patients given 5 mg of cA2 per kilogram (22 of 27 patients), 50 percent of those given 10 mg of cA2 per kilogram (14 of 28), and 64 percent of those given 20 mg of cA2 per kilogram (18 of 28) had had a clinical response, as compared with 17 percent of patients in the placebo group (4 of 24) (P<0.001 for the comparison of the cA2 group as a whole with placebo). Thirty-three percent of the patients given cA2 went into remission (defined as a score below 150 on the Crohn's Disease Activity Index), as compared with 4 percent of the patients given placebo (P = 0.005). At 12 weeks, 41 percent of the cA2-treated patients (34 of 83) had had a clinical response, as compared with 12 percent of the patients in the placebo group (3 of 25) (P = 0.008). The rates of adverse effects were similar in the groups.

Conclusions A single infusion of cA2 was an effective short-term treatment in many patients with moderate-to-severe, treatment-resistant Crohn's disease.


Source Information

From the Cedars–Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles (S.R.T.); the University of Chicago, Chicago (S.B.H.); Academisch Medisch Centrum, Amsterdam (S.J.H.D.); Mt. Sinai Medical Center, New York (L.M., D.H.P.); Centocor, Inc., Malvern, Pa. (T.B., K.L.D., T.F.S.); and Academisch Ziekenhuis Gasthuisberg, Leuven, Belgium (P.J.R.).

Address reprint requests to Dr. Targan at Cedars–Sinai Medical Center, Division of Gastroenterology and Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center D4063, 8700 Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90048.

Full Text of this Article


Related Letters:

Chimeric Monoclonal Antibody cA2 to Tumor Necrosis Factor {alpha} for Crohn's Disease
Hawkey C. J., Stack W. A., Bauditz J., Lochs H., Schreiber S., Targan S. R., Schaible T. F.
Extract | Full Text  
N Engl J Med 1998; 338:333-334, Jan 29, 1998. Correspondence

This article has been cited by other articles:



HOME  |  SUBSCRIBE  |  SEARCH  |  CURRENT ISSUE  |  PAST ISSUES  |  COLLECTIONS  |  PRIVACY  |  TERMS OF USE  |  HELP  |  beta.nejm.org

Comments and questions? Please contact us.

The New England Journal of Medicine is owned, published, and copyrighted © 2010 Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.