Academic collaborators of Myriad Genetics Inc, Salt Lake City, recently presented data from two studies of the company’s test for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), Vectra.
RA is an autoimmune disease that mainly attacks the body’s joints, leading to significant morbidity and financial burden. Approximately 60% of people with inadequately treated RA are unable to work 10 years after onset. The American College of Rheumatology estimates that RA affects 1.3 million people in the United States.
Vectra is a multibiomarker molecular blood test that provides an objective and personalized measure of inflammatory disease activity in patients with RA. Vectra has shown ability to predict radiographic progression of the disease, and is used to guide medical management decisions to improve patient outcomes. In a recently presented analysis based on multiple studies, Vectra was shown to be three times more effective than other measures of disease activity for predicting radiographic progression in patients with RA.
The two new studies were presented at the 2018 meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR). The studies evaluated the ability of the test to track treatment response in patients with RA. Key findings are that Vectra statistically significantly predicted response to tofacitinib and tracked response to rituximab.
Elena Hitraya, MD, Myriad Autoimmune.
“We are committed to advancing knowledge of the Vectra test for rheumatologists and their patients with rheumatoid arthritis,” says Elena Hitraya, MD, PhD, chief medical officer at Myriad Autoimmune. “This year we are highlighting two new studies that demonstrate the performance of Vectra in patients treated with ritaximab and tofacitinib. The goal is to provide rheumatologists with objective molecular information that can enable better patient management.”
At the ACR meeting, Amir Razmjou, MD, resident physician at the UCLA-Geffen School of Medicine, presented the first study to evaluate whether baseline Vectra scores are predictive of clinical response to treatment with tofacitinib. The study involved 25 patients with RA who were treated with tofacitinib. Vectra scores were assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, and 12 weeks. The results showed that the Vectra score at baseline was a statistically significant predictor of treatment responses to tofacitinib at week 12 (p<0.01).
In the second ACR presentation, Nadia M Roodenrijs, a doctoral candidate at the Utrecht University Medical Center, presented the first study to demonstrate that the Vectra score tracked disease activity in RA patients treated with rituximab, and that change in the Vectra score reflected the degree of treatment response. The Vectra score was measured at baseline (n=57) and at 6 months (n=46). The results showed that improvement in the Vectra score after 6 months was statistically significant (p<0.01), reflecting response to treatment with rituximab.
“We are excited about these new findings which advance the knowledge on Vectra,” says Hitraya. “We’re committed to providing rheumatologists with valuable information about a patient’s disease activity that can help direct treatment strategies and improve patient outcomes.”
Vectra testing is performed at Myriad’s state-of-the-art facility licensed under the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988 (CLIA). Test results are reported to the ordering physician 5 to 7 days from shipping of the specimen. Physicians can receive test results by fax or via the test’s private web portal, VectraView.
For further information, visit, Myriad Genetics.
References
- Razmjou A, Brook J, Kaeley G, Elashoff D, Ranganath VK. Baseline power doppler and multibiomarker disease activity score predict 12-week disease activity response to tofacitinib [abstract no. 582]. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, Chicago, October 19–24, 2018. Available at: https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/baseline-power-doppler-and-multi-biomarker-disease-activity-score-predict-12-week-disease-activity-response-to-tofacitinib. Accessed December 12, 2018.
- Roodenrijs NM, de Hair MJ, Wheater G, et al. The multibiomarker disease activity score tracks response to rituximab treatment in rheumatoid arthritis patients [abstract no. 1500]. Poster presentation at the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology, Chicago, October 19–24, 2018. Available at: https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/the-multi-biomarker-disease-activity-score-tracks-response-to-rituximab-treatment-in-rheumatoid-arthritis-patients. Accessed December 12, 2018.
