Kim ES, Kang B. Infliximab vs adalimumab: Points to consider when selecting anti-tumor necrosis factor agents in pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease. World J Gastroenterol 2023; 29(18): 2784-2797 [PMID: 37274072 DOI: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i18.2784]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Ben Kang, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 680 Gukchaebosang-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu 41944, South Korea. benkang@knu.ac.kr
Research Domain of This Article
Pediatrics
Article-Type of This Article
Minireviews
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Gastroenterol. May 14, 2023; 29(18): 2784-2797 Published online May 14, 2023. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v29.i18.2784
Infliximab vs adalimumab: Points to consider when selecting anti-tumor necrosis factor agents in pediatric patients with Crohn’s disease
Eun Sil Kim, Ben Kang
Eun Sil Kim, Department of Pediatrics, Kangbuk Samsung Hospital, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul 03181, South Korea
Ben Kang, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41944, South Korea
Author contributions: Kim ES contributed to the literature search, evidence procurement, writing and editing manuscript, revision; Kang B was the guarantor of the article, contributed to the literature search, evidence procurement, writing and editing manuscript, critical review of manuscript, revision and editing of final manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Ben Kang, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Kyungpook National University, 680 Gukchaebosang-ro, Jung-gu, Daegu 41944, South Korea. benkang@knu.ac.kr
Received: December 28, 2022 Peer-review started: December 28, 2022 First decision: March 8, 2023 Revised: March 20, 2023 Accepted: April 17, 2023 Article in press: April 17, 2023 Published online: May 14, 2023
Abstract
Biologic agents with various mechanisms against Crohn’s disease (CD) have been released and are widely used in clinical practice. However, two anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) agents, infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADL), are the only biologic agents approved by the Food and Drug Administration for pediatric CD currently. Therefore, in pediatric CD, the choice of biologic agents should be made more carefully to achieve the therapeutic goal. There are currently no head-to-head trials of biologic agents in pediatric or adult CD. There is a lack of accumulated data for pediatric CD, which requires the extrapolation of adult data for the positioning of biologics in pediatric CD. From a pharmacokinetic point of view, IFX is more advantageous than ADL when the inflammatory burden is high, and ADL is expected to be advantageous over IFX in sustaining remission in the maintenance phase. Additionally, we reviewed the safety profile, immunogenicity, preference, and compliance between IFX and ADL and provide practical insights into the choice of anti-TNF therapy in pediatric CD. Careful evaluation of clinical indications and disease behavior is essential when prescribing anti-TNF agents. In addition, factors such as the efficacy of induction and maintenance of remission, safety profile, immunogenicity, patient preference, and compliance play an important role in evaluating and selecting treatment options.
Core Tip: In pediatric Crohn’s disease (CD), the choice of biologic agents should be made more carefully to achieve the therapeutic goal. This review article focuses on comparing the efficacy of induction and maintenance of remission, safety profile, immunogenicity, preference, and compliance between infliximab and adalimumab in pediatric CD.
