Kazuki Yoshida, ScD: Treat-to-Target Proves Safe for Gout Therapy

Major adverse cardiovascular events could be reduced in the treatment of gout with the use of treat-to-target strategies in patients on urate-lowering therapy, according to new findings.

A late-breaking study presented at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 2021 Convergence this week provided supporting safety evidence for treat-to-target care in patients with gout. As urate-lowering therapy is generally associated with cardiovascular risks, the finding showing that the rheumatology societies-favored method of care provided safe outcomes versus less intensive methods of care is a promising development.

In an interview with HCPLive during ACR 2021, study author Kazuki Yoshida, ScD, Associate Epidemiologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, described the history of observed cardiovascular risk in urate-lowering therapy, as well as the significance of his team’s findings.

“What we can say from this study is that we didn’t find a sign of increased risk with intensifying treatment with urate-lowering therapy—so it in a sense confirms to the extent possible with exertion data that treat-to-target strategies, which rheumatology socieites are generally advocating, is safe in cardiovascular outcomes,” Yoshida said.

Yoshida also discussed the specific cardiovascular risks observed in the drug class among patients with gout, and what future research into gout treatment strategies may entail.

The study, “Comparative Safety of Gout "Treat-to-target" and "Usual Care" Treatment Strategies on Cardiovascular Outcomes Using Observational Data: Causal Inference Approach,” was presented at ACR 2021.