Please select the outcome measures that correspond to the clinical trial below.
Title: CSP #551 - Rheumatoid Arthritis: Comparison of Active Therapies in Patients With Active Disease Despite Methotrexate Therapy
Brief Summary: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the joints leading to joint destruction, with significant long-term morbidity and mortality. Early treatment of RA patients with disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) significantly decreases these complications. Methotrexate (MTX) is an excellent, economical first-line DMARD used to treat a majority of RA patients. While most patients respond well to MTX, many continue to have active disease. Therefore, understanding how to best treat RA patients with active disease despite MTX therapy is critically important. Although a number of therapies with significantly different economic implications have been shown to be effective when added to MTX, no trial has directly compared active therapies. This study will compare therapeutic strategies using two regimens with proven efficacy when added to MTX therapy; a) hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine (cost \~ $1000 per year); b) the tumor necrosis factor inhibitor, etanercept (cost \~ $12,000 per year).

We propose a bi-national multi-center randomized, double-blind equivalency trial comparing (A) the strategy of initially adding hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine to MTX in patients with active disease despite MTX, with a switch at 24 weeks to etanercept in nonresponders to (B) a strategy of adding etanercept to MTX, with a switch to hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine in nonresponders at 24 weeks. If we find that the strategy of first adding hydroxychloroquine and sulfasalazine to MTX identifies a subset of responsive patients and that there is no harm to nonresponders because of early rescue with etanercept, then this less expensive option should become the standard treatment for MTX resistant patients.

Four hundred and fifty RA patients with active disease despite treatment with MTX as indicated by a Disease Activity Score with 28 joints (DAS28) of \>4.4 units will be randomized. A DAS improvement of \<1.2 (validated as clinically significant) at 24 weeks will be used to identify early nonresponder who will switch therapy. Subjects with a DAS28 improvement of \> 1.2 at 24 weeks will remain on their initial therapy. The primary endpoint is the change of DAS 28 scores from baseline to 48 weeks. The secondary endpoint is comparison of radiographic progression of disease at 48 weeks, as measured by the change in Sharp score. Economic and functional outcomes will be assessed and a serum and DNA bank will be established to evaluate potential biomarkers predictive of treatment response/toxicity and disease progression. This trial will recruit 450 subjects over 40 months. At the end of the 48 week blinded active therapy portion of the trial, the blind will be broken and data will be collected in an open fashion until all 450 patients have completed the 48 week portion of the trial.


Options:
A: Mean 48-week Change in DAS28 (48 weeks after baseline assessment)
B: Percentage of Participants Achieving DAS28 Low Disease Activity at Week 12 (Week 12)
C: Percentage of Participants With American College of Rheumatology-ACR20 Response (Baseline, Week 24); Change From Baseline in Modified Total Sharp-Genant Score at Week 52 (Baseline, Week 52); Change in Physical Function as Measured by the Area Under the Curve (AUC) for the Change From Baseline in the Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) Disability Index at Week 52 (Baseline to Week 52); Change From Baseline in the Modified Total Sharp-Genant Score at Week 104 (Baseline, Week 104); Change in Physical Function as Measured by the Area Under the Curve for the Change From Baseline in the Health Assessment Questionnaire- Disability Index (HAQ-DI) at Week 104 (Baseline to Week 104)
D: Proportion of subjects achieving a good or moderate DAS28 response (as defined by the EULAR28 response criteria) at Week 12

Answer: A