Safety of biological therapies in ulcerative colitis: An umbrella review of meta-analyses

Stefanos Bonovas; Katerina Pantavou; Despo Evripidou; Anan Judina Bastiampillai; Georgios K Nikolopoulos; Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet; Silvio Danese

doi:10.1016/j.bpg.2018.05.005

Safety of biological therapies in ulcerative colitis: An umbrella review of meta-analyses

Best Pract Res Clin Gastroenterol. 2018 Feb-Apr:32-33:43-47. doi: 10.1016/j.bpg.2018.05.005. Epub 2018 Jun 11.

Authors

Stefanos Bonovas¹, Katerina Pantavou², Despo Evripidou³, Anan Judina Bastiampillai⁴, Georgios K Nikolopoulos⁵, Laurent Peyrin-Biroulet⁶, Silvio Danese⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IBD Center, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, 20089, Rozzano, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IBD Center, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, 20089, Rozzano, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Medical School, University of Cyprus, Nicosia, Cyprus. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Department of Hepato-Gastroenterology and Inserm U954, Nancy University Hospital, Lorraine University, 54511, Vandoeuvre-lès-Nancy, France. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁷ Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, 20090, Pieve Emanuele, Milan, Italy; IBD Center, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, 20089, Rozzano, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 30060938
DOI: 10.1016/j.bpg.2018.05.005

Abstract

Biological agents have proven clinical efficacy in the treatment of ulcerative colitis (UC). Their adverse effects have also been studied in a substantial number of primary studies and meta-analyses. Given the large volume of information that has been published, the aim of this umbrella review was to effectively summarize the accumulated evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the safety of biological therapies for UC into one accessible and usable document. Pubmed and Scopus databases were systematically searched through November 2017 to identify meta-analyses of RCTs that have investigated potential harms of biological agents (adalimumab, golimumab, infliximab, and vedolizumab) in patients with UC. Ten eligible meta-analyses were included. The body of available evidence supports the safety of biologic therapies in UC. Further research is needed to clarify the risk of any infection with biologics, for elderly and high-risk groups, for longer-term effects, and for head-to-head comparisons between the different biologics.

Keywords: Adverse effect; Anti-TNF; Anti-integrin; Anti-α4β7 antibody; Inflammatory bowel disease; Meta-analysis; Side effect; Systematic review; Ulcerative colitis; Umbrella review.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Biological Therapy* / methods
Colitis, Ulcerative* / drug therapy
Humans
Meta-Analysis as Topic