The management of RA patients with a history of cancer continues to be an area of concern. General recommendations are to treat patients with a history of solid organ cancer as no different to any other RA patient. Recently, the ORAL-Surveillance study demonstrated evidence of a greater risk of cancer with tofacitinib than with TNF inhibitors. In this setting, two posters both reassure and raise a new cause for concern.

The pharmaceutical companies have will showcase their featured clinical trials and abstracts at ACR 2022.  These are their best studies for you to review and evaluate as part of your to-do list. In the least, you should be familiar with the names and objectives of some of these studies as they will be discussed and mentioned throughout the meeting. Abbvie

Rheumatoid arthritis treatment has come leaps and bounds in recent decades. Gone are the days of gold injections, chemical synovectomies, and physician-mandated bedrest (heaven forbid). Though the marketplace for RA treatments is becoming ever more crowded, there are still unmet needs.

The updated 2022 EULAR recommendations for the management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were initially presented by Dr. Josef Smolen at EULAR 2022, and are now in press delineating the most recent developments and perspectives in RA treatment.

As we approach ACR22, there are many things to be excited about, especially with the reintroduction of in-person attendance. My attention this year is in research being presented in these three areas: ankylosing spondylitis; lupus management and treatment; and, subclinical RA.

New research being presented this week at ACR Convergence 2022, demonstrated that polyarticular juvenile idiopathic arthritis patients were more likely to achieve clinical remission with a combination of conventional and biologic DMARDs compared with other consensus treatment plans by the Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance (CARRA).