• Daniel H Solomon, Robert J Glynn, Elizabeth W Karlson, Fengxin Lu, Cassandra Corrigan, Josh Colls, Chang Xu, Jean MacFadyen, Medha Barbhaiya, Nancy Berliner, Paul F Dellaripa, Brendan M Everett, Aruna D Pradhan, Sarah P Hammond, Meredith Murray, Deepak A Rao, Susan Y Ritter, Anna Rutherford, Jeffrey A Sparks, Jackie Stratton, Dong H Suh, Sara K Tedeschi, Kathleen M M Vanni, Nina P Paynter, and Paul M Ridker.
• Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts (D.H.S., R.J.G., E.W.K., F.L., C.C., J.C., C.X., J.M., N.B., P.F.D., B.M.E., A.D.P., S.P.H., M.M., D.A.R., S.Y.R., A.R., J.A.S., J.S., D.H.S., S.K.T., K.M.V., N.P.P., P.M.R.).
• Ann. Intern. Med. 2020 Mar 17; 172 (6): 369-380.

BackgroundLow-dose methotrexate (LD-MTX) is the most commonly used drug for systemic rheumatic diseases worldwide and is the recommended first-line agent for rheumatoid arthritis. Despite extensive clinical use for more than 30 years, few data on adverse event (AE) rates derive from randomized, placebo-controlled trials, where both causality and magnitude of risk can be inferred.ObjectiveTo investigate AE rates, risk, and risk differences comparing LD-MTX versus placebo.DesignPrespecified secondary analyses of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01594333).SettingNorth America.ParticipantsAdults with known cardiovascular disease and diabetes or metabolic syndrome.InterventionRandom allocation to LD-MTX (≤20 mg/wk) or placebo. All participants received folic acid, 1 mg/d, 6 days per week.MeasurementsRisks for specific AEs of interest, as well as for all AEs, were compared across treatment groups after blinded adjudication.ResultsAfter an active run-in period, 6158 patients were enrolled and 4786 randomly assigned to a group; median follow-up was 23 months and median dosage 15 mg/wk. Among the randomly assigned participants, 81.2% were male, median age was 65.7 years, and median body mass index was 31.5 kg/m2. Of 2391 participants assigned to LD-MTX, 2080 (87.0%) had an AE of interest, compared with 1951 of 2395 (81.5%) assigned to placebo (hazard ratio [HR], 1.17 [95% CI, 1.10 to 1.25]). The relative hazards of gastrointestinal (HR, 1.91 [CI, 1.75 to 2.10]), pulmonary (HR, 1.52 [CI, 1.16 to 1.98]), infectious (HR, 1.15 [CI, 1.01 to 1.30]), and hematologic (HR, 1.15 [CI, 1.07 to 1.23]) AEs were elevated for LD-MTX versus placebo. With the exception of increased risk for skin cancer (HR, 2.05 [CI, 1.28 to 3.28]), the treatment groups did not differ in risk for other cancer or mucocutaneous, neuropsychiatric, or musculoskeletal AEs. Renal AEs were reduced in the LD-MTX group (HR, 0.85 [CI, 0.78 to 0.93]).LimitationThe trial was done in patients without rheumatic disease who tolerated LD-MTX during an active run-in period.ConclusionUse of LD-MTX was associated with small to moderate elevations in risks for skin cancer and gastrointestinal, infectious, pulmonary, and hematologic AEs, whereas renal AEs were decreased.Primary Funding SourceNational Institutes of Health.

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