Effectiveness of intravenous infliximab versus subcutaneous adalimumab in Takayasu arteritis: multicenter retrospective study

Arsène Mekinian¹, Sarah Meneses², Lucie Biard², Lorenzo Dagna³, Pavel Novikov⁴, Carlo Salvarani⁵, Olivier Espitia⁶, Savino Sciscia⁷, Martin Michaud⁸, Marc Lambert⁹, José Hernández-Rodríguez¹⁰, Nicolas Schleinitz¹¹, Abid Awisat¹², Xavier Puéchal¹³, Achille Aouba¹⁴, Heloise Munoz Pons¹⁵, Ilya Smitienko¹⁶, Jean Baptiste Gaultier¹⁷, Le Mouel Edwige^{1

8}, Ygal Benhamou¹⁸, Antoinette Perlat^{1

8}, Patrick Jego^{1

8}, Tiphaine Goulenok¹⁹, Karim Sacre¹⁹, Bertrand Lioger²⁰, Nolan Hassold²¹, Jonathan Broner²², Virginie Dufrost²³, Thomas Sene²⁴, Julie Seguier¹¹, Francois Maurier²⁵, Sabine Berthier²⁶, Alexandre Belot²⁷, Faten Frikha²⁸, Guillaume Denis²⁹, Alexandra Audemard-Verger³⁰, Isabelle Koné-Paut²¹, Sebastien Humbert³¹, Pascal Woaye-Hune³², Alessandro Tomelleri³, Elena Baldissera³, Masataka Kuwana³³, Alberto Logullo³⁴, Vahan Mukuchyan³⁵, Azeddine Dellal³⁶, Francis Gaches⁸, Pierre Zeminsky²³, Chiara Marvisi⁵, Moya Alvarado⁵, Luigi Boiardi⁵, Francesco Muratore⁵, Mathieu Vautier², Corrado Campochiaro³, Sergey Moiseev⁴, Matheus Vieira³⁷, Patrice Cacoub³⁷, Olivier Fain¹, David Saadoun³⁷; French Takayasu network

Affiliations

¹ Sorbonne Université, AP-HP, Hôpital Saint Antoine, service de médecine interne et Inflammation-Immunopathology-Biotherapy Department (DMU i3), Paris, France and French Armenian research center, Erevan, Armenia.
² Université de Paris, AP-HP, Hôpital Saint Louis, Service de Biostatistique et Information Médicale (DMU PRISME), INSERM U1153 Team ECSTRRA, Paris, France.
³ Unit of Immunology, Rheumatology, Allergy and Rare Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
⁴ Tareev Clinic of Internal Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
⁵ Division of Rheumatology, Azienda USL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
⁶ Department of internal and vascular medicine, Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Nantes, France.
⁷ Coordinating Center of the Interregional Network for Rare Diseases of Piedmont and Aosta Valley, San Giovanni Bosco Hub Hospital, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, University Center of Excellence on Nephrologic, Rheumatologic and Rare Diseases (ERK-Net, ERN-Reconnect and RITA-ERN Member) with Nephrology and Dialysis Unit and Center of Immuno-Rheumatology and Rare Diseases (CMID), Turin, Italy.
⁸ Médecine Interne, Hôpital Joseph Ducuing, Toulouse, France.
⁹ Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, Département de Médecine Interne et d'Immunologie Clinique, Centre National de Référence Maladies Systémiques et Auto-immunes Rares Nord et Nord-Ouest de France (CeRAINO), European Reference Network on Rare Connective Tissue and Musculoskeletal Diseases Network (ReCONNECT), INSERM, UMR 1167, RID-AGE, Lille, France.
¹⁰ Vasculitis Research Unit, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹¹ Département de médecine interne, CHU de La Timone, Marseille, France.
¹² Rheumatology unit, Bnai Zion medical center, Haifa, Israel.
¹³ Université Paris Cité, Paris, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Cochin, Centre de référence maladies auto-immunes et systémiques rares, service de médecine interne, Paris, France.
¹⁴ Département de médecine interne, CHU Caen, Caen, France.
¹⁵ Département de médecine interne, CHU Saint Etienne, Saint Etienne, France.
¹⁶ Rheumatology department, Medical Center K-31, Moscow, Russia.
¹⁷ Service de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Nord, Centre Hospitalier universitaire de St Etienne, 42055 saint Etienne cedex 2, France.
¹⁸ Service de médecine interne, Université Rouen, CHU de Rouen, Rouen, France.
¹⁹ Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Bichat, Université de Paris, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, INSERM U1149, France.
²⁰ Service de médecine interne, CHU de Blois, Blois, France.
²¹ Service de Rhumatologie pédiatrique et centre de référence des maladies autoinflammatoires et de l'amylose inflammatoire, CEREMAIA, hôpital de Bicêtre, APHP, université de Paris Sud-Saclay, Paris, France.
²² Service de médecine interne, CHU de Nimes, Nimes, France.
²³ University of Lorraine, Inserm UMR_S 1116, CHRU de Nancy, Vascular Medicine Division and national reference Center for Rare Vascular and Systemic Autoimmune Diseases, Nancy, France.
²⁴ Service de médecine interne, Paris, Rothschild, France.
²⁵ Service de Médecine Interne et Immunologie Clinique Groupe Hospitalier UNEOS, Metz-Vantoux, France.
²⁶ Service de médecine interne et immunologie clinique, Université Dijon, Hôpital Dijon, Dijon, France.
²⁷ Service de pédiatrie et immunologie clinique, Université Lyon, Hôpital Lyon, Lyon, France.
²⁸ Service de Médecine interne CHU Hédi Chaker, Faculté de Médecine, Sfax, Tunisia.
²⁹ Service de médecine et d'hématologie, Hopital Rochefort, Rochefort, France.
³⁰ Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology, CHRU Tours, University of Tours, Tours, France.
³¹ Service de médecine interne et immunologie clinique, Hôpital Besancon, Besancon, France.
³² Service de médecine interne, Hôpital de la Réunion, Réunion, France.
³³ Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Nippon Medical School Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
³⁴ IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo", Ospedale Piemonte, Messina, Italy.
³⁵ Nairi hospital, department of internal medicine and rheumatology, Erevan, Armenia.
³⁶ Service de rhumatologie, Hôpital Montfermeil, GHI Le Raincy Montfermeil, Montfermeil, France.
³⁷ Sorbonne Université, AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié Salpetrière, Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology France, Centre national de référence maladies Autoimmunes Systémiques rares, Centre national de référence maladies Autoinflammatoires et Amylose, and Inflammation-Immunopathology-Biotherapy Department (DMU i3), Paris, France.

PMID: 40811657
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf341

Effectiveness of intravenous infliximab versus subcutaneous adalimumab in Takayasu arteritis: multicenter retrospective study

Arsène Mekinian et al. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2025.

. 2025 Aug 14:keaf341.

doi: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf341. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Sorbonne Université, AP-HP, Hôpital Saint Antoine, service de médecine interne et Inflammation-Immunopathology-Biotherapy Department (DMU i3), Paris, France and French Armenian research center, Erevan, Armenia.
² Université de Paris, AP-HP, Hôpital Saint Louis, Service de Biostatistique et Information Médicale (DMU PRISME), INSERM U1153 Team ECSTRRA, Paris, France.
³ Unit of Immunology, Rheumatology, Allergy and Rare Diseases, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.
⁴ Tareev Clinic of Internal Diseases, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, Russia.
⁵ Division of Rheumatology, Azienda USL-IRCCS of Reggio Emilia, Reggio Emilia and University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.
⁶ Department of internal and vascular medicine, Nantes Université, CHU Nantes, Nantes, France.
⁷ Coordinating Center of the Interregional Network for Rare Diseases of Piedmont and Aosta Valley, San Giovanni Bosco Hub Hospital, Department of Clinical and Biological Sciences, University of Turin, University Center of Excellence on Nephrologic, Rheumatologic and Rare Diseases (ERK-Net, ERN-Reconnect and RITA-ERN Member) with Nephrology and Dialysis Unit and Center of Immuno-Rheumatology and Rare Diseases (CMID), Turin, Italy.
⁸ Médecine Interne, Hôpital Joseph Ducuing, Toulouse, France.
⁹ Univ. Lille, CHU Lille, Département de Médecine Interne et d'Immunologie Clinique, Centre National de Référence Maladies Systémiques et Auto-immunes Rares Nord et Nord-Ouest de France (CeRAINO), European Reference Network on Rare Connective Tissue and Musculoskeletal Diseases Network (ReCONNECT), INSERM, UMR 1167, RID-AGE, Lille, France.
¹⁰ Vasculitis Research Unit, Department of Autoimmune Diseases, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Institut d'Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer (IDIBAPS), University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
¹¹ Département de médecine interne, CHU de La Timone, Marseille, France.
¹² Rheumatology unit, Bnai Zion medical center, Haifa, Israel.
¹³ Université Paris Cité, Paris, France; AP-HP, Hôpital Cochin, Centre de référence maladies auto-immunes et systémiques rares, service de médecine interne, Paris, France.
¹⁴ Département de médecine interne, CHU Caen, Caen, France.
¹⁵ Département de médecine interne, CHU Saint Etienne, Saint Etienne, France.
¹⁶ Rheumatology department, Medical Center K-31, Moscow, Russia.
¹⁷ Service de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Nord, Centre Hospitalier universitaire de St Etienne, 42055 saint Etienne cedex 2, France.
¹⁸ Service de médecine interne, Université Rouen, CHU de Rouen, Rouen, France.
¹⁹ Département de Médecine Interne, Hôpital Bichat, Université de Paris, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Paris, INSERM U1149, France.
²⁰ Service de médecine interne, CHU de Blois, Blois, France.
²¹ Service de Rhumatologie pédiatrique et centre de référence des maladies autoinflammatoires et de l'amylose inflammatoire, CEREMAIA, hôpital de Bicêtre, APHP, université de Paris Sud-Saclay, Paris, France.
²² Service de médecine interne, CHU de Nimes, Nimes, France.
²³ University of Lorraine, Inserm UMR_S 1116, CHRU de Nancy, Vascular Medicine Division and national reference Center for Rare Vascular and Systemic Autoimmune Diseases, Nancy, France.
²⁴ Service de médecine interne, Paris, Rothschild, France.
²⁵ Service de Médecine Interne et Immunologie Clinique Groupe Hospitalier UNEOS, Metz-Vantoux, France.
²⁶ Service de médecine interne et immunologie clinique, Université Dijon, Hôpital Dijon, Dijon, France.
²⁷ Service de pédiatrie et immunologie clinique, Université Lyon, Hôpital Lyon, Lyon, France.
²⁸ Service de Médecine interne CHU Hédi Chaker, Faculté de Médecine, Sfax, Tunisia.
²⁹ Service de médecine et d'hématologie, Hopital Rochefort, Rochefort, France.
³⁰ Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology, CHRU Tours, University of Tours, Tours, France.
³¹ Service de médecine interne et immunologie clinique, Hôpital Besancon, Besancon, France.
³² Service de médecine interne, Hôpital de la Réunion, Réunion, France.
³³ Department of Allergy and Rheumatology, Nippon Medical School Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
³⁴ IRCCS Centro Neurolesi "Bonino-Pulejo", Ospedale Piemonte, Messina, Italy.
³⁵ Nairi hospital, department of internal medicine and rheumatology, Erevan, Armenia.
³⁶ Service de rhumatologie, Hôpital Montfermeil, GHI Le Raincy Montfermeil, Montfermeil, France.
³⁷ Sorbonne Université, AP-HP, Hôpital Pitié Salpetrière, Department of Internal Medicine and Clinical Immunology France, Centre national de référence maladies Autoimmunes Systémiques rares, Centre national de référence maladies Autoinflammatoires et Amylose, and Inflammation-Immunopathology-Biotherapy Department (DMU i3), Paris, France.

PMID: 40811657
DOI: 10.1093/rheumatology/keaf341

Abstract

Objectives: In this large multicentre study, we aimed to compare the effectiveness of intravenous infliximab vs subcutaneous adalimumab in patients with Takayasu arteritis.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicentre study across referral centers in France, Italy, Spain, Armenia, Israel, Japan, Tunisia, and Russia, analyzing biological-targeted therapies in TAK from January 2017 to September 2019.

Results: A total of 135 TAK patients who received adalimumab (n = 34) or infliximab (n = 101) for at least 3 months were included. Baseline demographics, TAK characteristics, and concurrent treatments were comparable, except for a higher rate of Numano type V in adalimumab group. At 6 months, 71% achieved complete response (NIH < 2 with <7.5 mg/day prednisone), including 68% on adalimumab and 73% on infliximab (p= 0.8). The factors associated with complete response to TNFα inhibitors at 6 months in univariate analysis were age < 30 years, tobacco use, vascular signs at the biologic initiation, NIH ≥ 2, CRP> 20 mg/l, a starting dose >20 mg/day of prednisone, but not the use of infliximab or either adalimumab. The cumulative incidence of treatment failure was not significantly different between infliximab and adalimumab patients. During the median follow-up of 23 months [Q1: 17; Q3:42] and 48 [25; 99] in patients who received IV infliximab and SC adalimumab, respectively, the risk of relapse at 12 months was at 10.9% [0, 21.9] and 16.8% [8.64, 24.27], respectively. The overall incidence of revascularizations was not significantly different.

Conclusion: In this study, we confirm that infliximab and adalimumab are both effective in TAK, without significant differences in the risk of relapse and revascularizations.

Keywords: TNFa inhibitors; Takayasu arteritis; vasculitis treatment.

© The Author(s) 2025. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. All rights reserved. For commercial re-use, please contact reprints@oup.com for reprints and translation rights for reprints. All other permissions can be obtained through our RightsLink service via the Permissions link on the article page on our site—for further information please contact journals.permissions@oup.com.

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Effectiveness of intravenous infliximab versus subcutaneous adalimumab in Takayasu arteritis: multicenter retrospective study

Affiliations

Effectiveness of intravenous infliximab versus subcutaneous adalimumab in Takayasu arteritis: multicenter retrospective study

Authors

Affiliations

Abstract