Ustekinumab improves health‐related quality of life in patients with moderate‐to‐severe Crohn's disease: Results up to Week 104 of the STARDUST trial

BACKGROUND: STARDUST is a phase 3b randomized controlled trial comparing two ustekinumab treatment strategies in patients with Crohn's disease (CD): treat‐to‐target (T2T) versus standard of care (SoC). OBJECTIVE: We investigated the effect of a T2T or SoC ustekinumab treatment strategy on health‐related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity and activity impairment (WPAI) over a 2‐year follow‐up period. METHODS: At Week 16, adult patients with moderate‐to‐severe active CD were randomized 1:1 to either T2T or SoC treatment groups. We assessed changes from baseline in HRQoL measures (Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire [IBDQ], EuroQoL 5‐dimension 5‐level [visual analogue scale and index], Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy‐Fatigue, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale‐Anxiety and ‐Depression) and the WPAI questionnaire in two patient populations: randomized analysis set (RAS, patients randomized to either T2T or SoC at Week 16 and completed Week 48) and modified RAS (mRAS, patients who entered the long‐term extension [LTE] period at Week 48). RESULTS: At Week 16, 440 patients were randomized to T2T (n = 219) or SoC (n = 221) arms; 366 patients completed Week 48. Of these, 323 patients entered the LTE and 258 patients completed 104 weeks of treatment. In the RAS population, percentages of patients achieving IBDQ response and remission were not significantly different between treatment arms at Weeks 16 and 48. In the overall mRAS population, IBDQ response and remission increased over time from Weeks 16–104. In both populations, improvements from baseline in all HRQoL measurements were observed at Week 16 and maintained until either Week 48 or Week 104, respectively. In both populations, improvements from baseline in T2T and SoC arms at Weeks 16, 48 or 104 in WPAI domains were observed. CONCLUSION: Independent of treatment strategy (T2T or SoC), ustekinumab was effective in improving HRQoL measurements and WPAI over a period of 2 years.