[NIHR CRN Portfolio Study ID: 41748]
Status: Open to recruitment.
The aim of the study is to investigate the hypothesis that the cytokine and phosphoproteomic profiles of RA synovial tissue determine response to Janus kinase (JAK) inhibition with tofacitinib and thus whether pre-treatment examination of joint tissue can help select patients most likely to respond to tofacitinib. Patients will then undergo a baseline US-guided synovial biopsy of a clinically active joint and will then commence standard therapy of tofacitinib. This study aims to recruit 20patients.
Biological sample collection will include synovial biopsy tissue and blood at four timepoints over a 12-week follow-up period (biopsy tissue to be collected at baseline & week 12 follow-up, blood to be collected at all four timepoints) and will be linked to stringent clinical outcome measures. Blood samples to be collected include serum, plasma, peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), RNA, and DNA.
Supported by NIHR Barts Biomedical Research Centre