P1082 A comparative analysis of persistence of advanced therapies among patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Taiwan

Abstract

Abstract Background The prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been rapidly increasing in Asia. Advanced therapies have significantly improved outcomes for moderate to severe cases of IBD. With the expanding availability of advanced therapies, the selection of the most suitable treatment option has become crucial. Among various factors, treatment persistence holds paramount importance. We present the first study in Asia that compares real-world persistence rates among advanced therapies in IBD patients in Taiwan. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, we enrolled patients with IBD who were treated with five advanced therapies: infliximab (IFX), adalimumab (ADA), vedolizumab (VDZ), ustekinumab (UST), and tofacitinib (TOF) at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital between October 2017 and April 2023. UST followed a standard maintenance dosing frequency of every 12 weeks, while TOF was permitted for use only as a second-line treatment option for UC in Taiwan. We compared baseline data and drug persistence rates within the first 52 weeks for the overall group, biologic-naïve patients, and biologic-experienced patients. Results A total of 432 IBD patients were included, with 173 (40%) having ulcerative colitis (UC) and 259 (60%) having Crohn's disease (CD). The majority of patients were male, with a mean age of 43.6 years and a mean BMI of 22.6. UST showed the highest rate of dose escalation (22%). Across all five drugs, the primary reason of discontinuation was secondary loss of response, with IFX having the highest discontinuation rate due to side effects (20%). Other baseline characteristics were presented in Table 1. Kaplan-Meier analysis revealed that all biologics exhibited a persistence rate of over 50% within the initial 52 weeks. UST demonstrated the highest 52-week persistence rates in overall (87.88%, p < 0.001, Figure 1a), biologic-naïve (96.55%, p = 0.002, Figure 1b) and biologic-experienced CD patients (80.56%, p=0.043, Figure 1c). Although no statistically significant differences were observed between advanced therapies in overall UC patients and other subgroup analyses (Figure 1d-1f). VDZ showed highest 52-week persistence in overall (69.05%, p=0.078, Figure 1d) and biologic-experienced (60.87%, p=0.751, Figure 1f) UC patients. UST had highest 52-week persistence in biologic-naïve UC patients (100%, p=0.329, Figure 1e). Conclusion In this pioneering real-world comparison of advanced therapies across one year in Asia, UST exhibited superior 52-week persistence rates in CD patients. However, the rate of dose escalation in UST was also the highest among these therapies. The study's limitations include its single-center nature and relatively small sample size.