Smoking Cuts Chance of Responding to Biologic Drugs for Rheumatoid Arthritis

There's more bad news for smokers, according to a report from the annual meeting of the British Society for Rheumatology. People with rheumatoid arthritis who smoke are less likely to respond to treatment with biologic drugs than people with rheumatoid arthritis who have never smoked. The numbers are quite striking. In a study of 359 patients, results revealed that after 6 months of treatment with TNF blockers, only 27% of current smokers responded to treatment compared to 90% of patients who never smoked and 63% of those who had smoked but stopped.

The response was similarly poor when response to Rituxan (rituximab) was evaluated. Only 20% of patients who were current smokers responded to rituximab, compared to 68% of those who used to smoke and 98% of those who never smoked. Change in DAS28 was used to evaluate the response or lack of response. The results offer yet another reason why rheumatoid arthritis patients should make every attempt to quit smoking.

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