Published online Oct 7, 2014. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v20.i37.13234
Revised: June 16, 2014
Accepted: July 22, 2014
Published online: October 7, 2014
Of the diverse biological agents used for patients with ulcerative colitis, the anti-tumor necrosis factor-α agents infliximab and adalimumab have been used in large-scale clinical trials and are currently widely used in the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease patients. Recent studies have indicated that golimumab, oral tofacitinib and vedolizumab reportedly achieved good clinical response and remission rates in ulcerative colitis patients. Thus, we believe that the detailed investigation of various studies on clinical trials may provide important information for the selection of appropriate biological agents, and therefore, we have extensively reviewed such trials in the present study.
Core tip: In the last two years, the use of the Janus kinase 3 inhibitor (oral tofacitinib) and the α4β7 integrin blocker (vedolizumab) reportedly achieved good clinical response and remission rates in ulcerative colitis patients. Thus, we believe that the detailed investigation of various studies on clinical trials performed thus far may provide important information for the selection of appropriate biological agents, and therefore, we have extensively reviewed such trials in the present study.