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The following is a summary of “Predictors of Secukinumab Treatment Response and Continuation in Axial Spondyloarthritis: Results From the EuroSpA Research Collaboration Network,” published in the February 2025 issue of Journal of Rheumatology by Pons et al. 

Researchers conducted a retrospective study to identify baseline predictors of low disease activity (LDA) at 6 months in patients with axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA) starting secukinumab (SEC), using Axial Spondyloarthritis Disease Activity Score using C-reactive protein (ASDAS-CRP) and Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI). They also assessed treatment continuation at 12 months. 

They included patients with axSpA from 11 European registries who started SEC in routine care with 6-month ASDAS-CRP and BASDAI data. Logistic regression on multiple imputed baseline data was analyzed, including demographic, diagnosis, lifestyle, and clinical and patient-reported predictors. 

The results showed that in 1174 patients with axSpA, 5 of 19 assessed variables predicted LDA by ASDAS-CRP and BASDAI: higher physician global assessment, noncurrent smoking, no prior biologic/targeted synthetic DMARD use, and lower HAQ and BASDAI scores. Radiographic axSpA and CRP ≤ 10 mg/L predicted ASDAS-CRP LDA, while HLA-B27 positivity and psoriasis history predicted BASDAI LDA. SEC initiation in 2015-2017 was linked to treatment continuation. 

Investigators found that clinical, patient-reported, and lifestyle factors predicted LDA by ASDAS-CRP and BASDAI at 6 months and treatment continuation at 12 months, highlighting the complexity of real-world drug effectiveness. 

Source: jrheum.org/content/early/2025/03/10/jrheum.2024-0920