Relationship between Lymph Node Volume and Pain following Certolizumab Therapy for Rheumatoid Arthritis Flare: A Pilot Study

Abstract

RA patients with the smallest change in LN volume during anti-tumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) therapy experienced the greatest pain relief in symptomatic knee joints. Moreover, the remarkably linear inverse correlation between LN volume and joint pain observed in this small clinical pilot provides initial evidence to support the concept that dynamic changes in draining LN volume are a biomarker of clinical response to therapy in RA.