SynthesisRMD open2022
A systematic literature review informing the consensus statement on efficacy and safety of pharmacological treatment with interleukin-6 pathway inhibition with biological DMARDs in immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
Synthesis in RMD open, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
22 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 42 citations in OpenAlex.
- Detectable safety gestalt of rheumatoid arthritis treatments from pivotal clinical drug trials.Rheumatology (Oxford, England) · 2026Pooled it
- Trial
- Reactivation of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis in a Rheumatoid Arthritis Patient Undergoing Tocilizumab Treatment.The American journal of tropical medicine and hygiene · 2026Article
- The role of monoclonal antibodies against IL-6 or IL-6R in the treatment of thyroid eye disease.Reviews in endocrine & metabolic disorders · 2026Review
- Interferon-JAK-STAT Axis in Bone Metabolism.Current osteoporosis reports · 2026Review
- Functional Equivalence of Heat-Inactivated (HI) and Live Probiotic RSB11 in Suppressing Inflammation: Expanding Formulation and Application Potential.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- What has changed in thyroid eye disease in the last five years (2020-2025).European thyroid journal · 2026Review
- Tocilizumab for the Treatment of Intravenous Immunoglobulin-Resistant Kawasaki Disease in Children: Two Case Reports and Literature Review.Journal of inflammation research · 2026Article
- Causal link between type 1 diabetes mellitus and juvenile idiopathic arthritis in Europe.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- Comprehensive Profiling of Cytokines and Growth Factors: Pathogenic Roles and Clinical Applications in Autoimmune Diseases.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Review
- Update on Biologic Therapy in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Five-year Narrative Review.Biologics : targets & therapy · 2025Review
- IL-6R Inhibitors and Gastrointestinal Perforations: A Pharmacovigilance Study and a Predicting Nomogram.Biomedicines · 2024Article
- Management strategies in rheumatoid arthritis.Nature reviews. Rheumatology · 2024Review
- Castleman's disease in the rheumatological practice.Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2024Review
- The COVID-19 Pandemic Heightens Interest in Cytokine Storm Disease and Advances in Machine Learning Diagnosis, Telemedicine, and Primordial Prevention of Rheumatic Diseases.European journal of rheumatology · 2024Review
- Exploring the therapeutic potential of interleukin-6 receptor blockade in autoimmune diseases using drug target mendelian randomization.Immunogenetics · 2024Article
- Interleukin-6: Cardiovascular Aspects of Long-Term Cytokine Suppression in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Article
- [Castleman's disease in the rheumatological practice].Zeitschrift fur Rheumatologie · 2024Review
- Exosomes and exosomal miRNAs: A new avenue for the future treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.Heliyon · 2024Review
- Update on the diagnosis and treatment of neuromyelitis optica spectrum disorders (NMOSD) - revised recommendations of the Neuromyelitis Optica Study Group (NEMOS). Part II: Attack therapy and long-term management.Journal of neurology · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
17 authors at 10 institutions in 8 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesInforming an international task force updating the consensus statement on efficacy and safety of biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) selectively targeting interleukin-6 (IL-6) pathway in the context of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases.
methodsA systematic literature research of all publications on IL-6 axis inhibition with bDMARDs published between January 2012 and December 2020 was performed using MEDLINE, EMBASE and Cochrane CENTRAL databases. Efficacy and safety outcomes were assessed in clinical trials including their long-term extensions and observational studies. Meeting abstracts from ACR, EULAR conferences and results on clinicaltrials.gov were taken into consideration.
results187 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Evidence for positive effect of IL-6 inhibition was available in various inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile idiopathic arthritis, giant cell arteritis, Takayasu arteritis, adult-onset Still's disease, cytokine release syndrome due to chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy and systemic sclerosis-associated interstitial lung disease. Newcomers like satralizumab and anti-IL-6 ligand antibody siltuximab have expanded therapeutic approaches for Castleman's disease and neuromyelitis optica, respectively. IL-6 inhibition did not provide therapeutic benefits in psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and certain connective tissue diseases. In COVID-19, tocilizumab (TCZ) has proven to be therapeutic in advanced disease. Safety outcomes did not differ from other bDMARDs, except higher risks of diverticulitis and lower gastrointestinal perforations. Inconsistent results were observed in several studies investigating the risk for infections when comparing TCZ to TNF-inhibitors.
conclusionIL-6 inhibition is effective for treatment of several inflammatory diseases with a safety profile that is widely comparable to other bDMARDs.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.