Phospho-Tof-RA
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Phosphoproteomic profiling of Tofacitinib response in Rheumatoid Arthritis (Phospho-Tof-RA)
IRAS ID
254455
Contact name
Costantino Pitzalis
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Queen Mary University
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 2 months, 30 days
Research summary
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic, disabling autoimmune condition in which the body attacks itself, that predominantly impacts upon the joints.
According to a report by the National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society (The Economic Burden of Rheumatoid Arthritis March 2010), around 580,000 people have RA in England. RA impacts heavily on people of working age (it is most common after 40, and three-quarters of people with RA are first diagnosed when of working age), and it is a major cause of sickness absence and – ultimately – worklessness. An NRAS report from 2007 found that almost 29.3% of the people with RA surveyed gave up work as a result of their condition – with 28.4% doing so within one year of diagnosis, and well over half (59%) doing so within six years.
Despite the success of conventional synthetic disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (csDMARDs), biologic DMARDs (bDMARDs) and targeted synthetic DMARDs (tsDMARDs), there is still a huge unmet need in Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Approximately 40% of patients fail to respond to treatment regardless of the drug mechanism of action. The mechanisms of non-response remain largely unknown and there are no specific biomarkers predictive of response.
20 patients will be recruited to this study that are eligible to receive Tofacitinib (a Janus Kinase Inhibitor (JAK) inhibitor) according to NICE guidelines. The patients will undergo a synovial tissue biopsy at baseline and their 3 month visit (optional). Their response to treatment will be measured at their 3 month visit.
The aim of this study is to analyse the proteins present and modified proteins in the synovial disease tissue using a method called Proteomic/phosphoproteomic profiling and to identify potential predictors of response to Tofacitinib. This will lead on to the development of an algorithm for predicting treatment response in these patients.
REC name
London - Surrey Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/LO/0597
Date of REC Opinion
28 May 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion