@article{Bovis2020, abstract = {ObjectiveTo compare the effectiveness of glatiramer acetate (GA) vs intramuscular interferon beta-1a (IFN-β-1a), we applied a previously published statistical method aimed at identifying patients' profiles associated with efficacy of treatments.MethodsData from 2 independent multiple sclerosis datasets, a randomized study (the Combination Therapy in Patients With Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis [CombiRx] trial, evaluating GA vs IFN-β-1a) and an observational cohort extracted from MSBase, were used to build and validate a treatment response score, regressing annualized relapse rates (ARRs) on a set of baseline predictors.ResultsThe overall ARR ratio of GA to IFN-β-1a in the CombiRx trial was 0.72. The response score (made up of a linear combination of age, sex, relapses in the previous year, disease duration, and Expanded Disability Status Scale score) detected differential response of GA vs IFN-β-1a: in the trial, patients with the largest benefit from GA vs IFN-β-1a (lower score quartile) had an ARR ratio of 0.40 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.25–0.63), those in the 2 middle quartiles of 0.90 (95% CI 0.61–1.34), and those in the upper quartile of 1.14 (95% CI 0.59–2.18) (heterogeneity p = 0.012); this result was validated on MSBase, with the corresponding ARR ratios of 0.58 (95% CI 0.46–0.72), 0.92 (95% CI 0.77–1.09,) and 1.29 (95% CI 0.97–1.71); heterogeneity p < 0.0001).ConclusionsWe demonstrate the possibility of a criterion, based on patients' characteristics, to choose whether to treat with GA or IFN-β-1a. This result, replicated on an independent real-life cohort, may have implications for clinical decisions in everyday clinical practice.}, author = {Bovis, Francesca and Kalincik, Tomas and Lublin, Fred and Cutter, Gary and Malpas, Charles and Horakova, Dana and Havrdova, Eva Kubala and Trojano, Maria and Prat, Alexandre and Girard, Marc and Duquette, Pierre and Onofrj, Marco and Lugaresi, Alessandra and Izquierdo, Guillermo and Eichau, Sara and Patti, Francesco and Terzi, Murat and Grammond, Pierre and Bergamaschi, Roberto and Sola, Patrizia and Ferraro, Diana and Ozakbas, Serkan and Iuliano, Gerardo and Boz, Cavit and Hupperts, Raymond and Grand'Maison, Francois and Oreja-Guevara, Celia and van Pesch, Vincent and Cartechini, Elisabetta and Petersen, Thor and Altintas, Ayse and Soysal, Aysun and Ramo-Tello, Cristina and McCombe, Pamela and Turkoglu, Recai and Butzkueven, Helmut and Wolinsky, Jerry S. and Solaro, Claudio and Sormani, Maria Pia}, doi = {10.1212/wnl.0000000000010991}, journal = {Neurology}, month = {oct}, pages = {e214-e227}, title = {Treatment response score to glatiramer acetate or interferon beta-1a}, url = {https://oadoi.org/10.1212/wnl.0000000000010991}, volume = {96}, year = {2020} }