To the Editor:
Clinicians, patients, and others have shown considerable interest in the subject of tumor necrosis factor inhibitor (TNFi) dose tapering in ankylosing spondylitis (AS) because of the drug’s high cost and potential for toxicity1,2,3. In the ANSWERS (ANkylosing Spondylitis With Etanercept RegimeS) trial, we demonstrated that over 50% of participants originally treated with etanercept (ETN) 50 mg once weekly (OW) who were then randomized to a tapered dose of ETN 25 mg OW maintained the primary outcome measure …
Dr. Gaffney received research grants and speaker/consultancy fees from AbbVie, MSD, Pfizer, Cellgene, Novartis, and UCB. The study described here was done in affiliation with BRITSpA (British Society for Spondyloarthritis). Address correspondence to Dr. K. Gaffney, Rheumatology Department, Norfolk and Norwich University NHS Foundation Trust, Colney Lane, Norwich NR8 5HE, UK. E-mail: karl.gaffney{at}nnuh.nhs.uk