Jeffrey Curtis, ACR 2020 – Results from the SEAM-RA Trial [TEST]

It was an absolute pleasure to talk with Jeffrey Curtis (University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA) to discuss whether patients could maintain rheumatoid arthritis remission on monotherapy after discontinuing either methotrexate or etanercept (Clinical Trial Identifier: NCT02373813).

The abstract entitled ‘Maintenance of Remission After Withdrawal of Etanercept or Methotrexate in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis in Sustained Remission on Combination Therapy: Results from a Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Trial’ (ABSTRACT NUMBER: 0939) was presented at the virtual ACR Convergence 2020, 5-9 November 2020.

Questions

1. What are the challenges facing patients in remission on combination therapy of methotrexate plus etanercept? (0:14)
2. What is the rationale for discontinuing one of these medications and continuing with monotherapy? (1:47)
3. Could you tell us a little about your study, its findings and the implications for clinical practice? (4:42)
4. How can remission be regained if it is lost following withdrawal of methotrexate? (6:35)

Disclosure: Consulting fees and research grants to the university from Amgen

Support: Interview and filming supported by Touch Medical Media.

Filmed in coverage of the ACR 2020 Annual Meeting (Virtual).