Introduction
The vedolizumab clinical decision support tool (VDZ-CDST) was developed and validated as a clinical prediction tool for vedolizumab (VDZ) use in Crohn’s disease (CD). It has demonstrated prognostic value with the ability to stratify patients by probability of clinical and endoscopic response to VDZ at week 26. We examined the applicability of the tool in a real-world dataset of VDZ treated CD patients.
Aims & Methods
We performed a retrospective data collection and analysis at a single tertiary centre on patients who had started VDZ between January 2015 to February 2022. We collected baseline data to calculate the CDST: prior exposure to tumour necrosis factor (TNF) antagonists, prior surgery for CD, prior fistulating disease, baseline albumin and C reactive protein (CRP). Our main endpoints were treatment persistence at 12 and 24 months. We also retrieved the following parameters of disease activity at 12 month follow up: CRP, faecal calprotectin (FCP), mucosal healing (defined as ulcer free endoscopy) and progression to surgery. Chi square for trend was used for 12 month persistence and Kaplan-Meier curves with log rank test for trend was used for 24 month persistence. ANOVA was used for comparing continuous variables.
Results
130 patients were included. 74.6% had prior TNF antagonist exposure, median baseline CRP was 4 mg/L, and median albumin was 43 g/L. Using the CDST at baseline, 3 groups were defined – 9 (7%) were low, 51 (39%) were intermediate, and 70 (54%) had a high probability of treatment response. One year treatment persistence rates were 56%, 69%, and 80% in the low, intermediate and high probability groups respectively (p=0.048). Kaplan-Meier analysis demonstrate increasing rates of persistence at 24 months in keeping with CDST-defined probability of response (p=0.035). There were also statistically significant differences in outcomes across the 3 groups, with lower CRP at 12 months, higher rates of mucosal healing and lower rates of progression to surgery in the high probability group versus the low and intermediate groups.
| Low probability group n = 9 (%)
| Intermediate probability group n = 51 (%)
| High probability group n = 70 (%)
| p value
|
| Treatment persistence at 12 months | 5 (56)
| 35 (69)
| 56 (80)
| 0.048
|
CRP at 12 months, median (mg/L)
| 10 | 3 | 2 | 0.015 |
FCP at 12 months, median (μg/g)
| 223 | 209 | 92 | 0.59 |
Mucosal healing
| 1/5 (20)
| 13/28 (46)
| 28/37 (76)
| 0.0023
|
Surgery for CD
| 3 (33)
| 16 (31)
| 11 (16)
| 0.042
|
Conclusion
The prognostic value of the VDZ-CDST appears valid in a real-world CD cohort with high rates of prior TNF antagonist exposure. The tool has demonstrated predictive ability for long-term treatment persistence as well as measures of biochemical and endoscopic activity. Our study is consistent with a growing body of published evidence on the applicability of CDST and suggests a role for CDST in guiding therapeutic decision making in routine clinical practice.
References
1. Dulai PS, Boland BS, Singh S, Chaudrey K, Koliani-Pace JL, Kochhar G, Parikh MP, Shmidt E, Hartke J, Chilukuri P, Meserve J. Development and validation of a scoring system to predict outcomes of vedolizumab treatment in patients with Crohn’s disease. Gastroenterology. 2018 Sep 1;155(3):687-95.
2. Dulai PS, Amiot A, Peyrin-Biroulet L, Jairath V, Serrero M, Filippi J, Singh S, Pariente B, Loftus EV Jr, Roblin X, Kane S, Buisson A, Siegel CA, Bouhnik Y, Sandborn WJ, Lasch K, Rosario M, Feagan BG, Bojic D, Trang-Poisson C, Shen B, Altwegg R, Sands BE, Colombel JF, Carbonnel F; GETAID OBSERV-IBD, VICTORY Cohorts Collaboration*. A clinical decision support tool may help to optimise vedolizumab therapy in Crohn's disease. Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2020 Mar;51(5):553-564. doi: 10.1111/apt.15609. Epub 2019 Dec 22. Erratum in: Aliment Pharmacol Ther. 2021 Apr;53(8):963. PMID: 31867766; PMCID: PMC7028036.