An observational study of tocilizumab and TNF- inhibitor use in a Japanese community hospital: different remission rates, similar drug survival and safety

Abstract

Tocilizumab had drug survival and safety profiles similar to those of TNF inhibitors in this Japanese single-centre registry. Tocilizumab was superior to TNF inhibitors when compared at 6 months by DAS-28-ESR remission. However, the newly suggested Boolean criteria are more appropriate measures of effectiveness as DAS-28-ESR remission by tocilizumab was mainly due to very low ESR in our study population.