Effect of Anti-TNF Antibodies on Clinical Response in Rheumatoid Arthritis Patients: A Meta-Analysis

Background. Antitumor necrosis factor (anti-TNF) drugs have been applied for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment; however, patients having anti-drug antibodies (ADAbs) do not benefit from these drugs. The meta-analysis aims to comprehensively assess the relationship between ADAb positive (ADAb+) and anti-TNF response in RA patients. Methods. Observational studies comparing different clinical response between ADAb+ and ADAb negative groups were included. Odds ratio (OR) with its corresponding 95% confidence interval (CI) was used as effect size. Subgroup analyses stratified by TNF inhibitor types and assay methods for ADAb detection were performed. Results. Totally, 10 eligible studies containing 1806 subjects were included. ADAb+ was significantly associated with reduced anti-TNF response to RA at all the time points after follow-up (P<0.001). Subgroup analysis also supported this significant association (P