Rheumatology Advisor reporter Tori Rodriguez writes on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNFis) in the fields of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and spondyloarthritis (SpA).

She interviews Iris Navarro-Millan, MD, rheumatologist at HSS, who explains that there's more data available on patients with RA than those with SpA. 

"It is important to take into consideration the reasons a patient needs to switch anti-TNFs. In patients whose reasons are related to side effects of the first anti-TNF drug, considering a second anti-TNF could be a reasonable approach. However, if the patient has not responded to an anti-TNF because of a lack of efficacy, given the broader treatment options available now, we have compelling data and treatment guidelines that support changing the mechanism of action of a biologic instead of using another that is in the same drug class," she says.

Read the full article at RheumatologyAdvisor.com.