The real-world patient experience of fingolimod and dimethyl fumarate for multiple sclerosis

BACKGROUND: Oral disease-modifying therapies offer equivalent or superior efficacy and greater convenience versus injectable options. OBJECTIVES: To compare patient-reported experiences of fingolimod and dimethyl fumarate. METHODS: Adult relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients treated with fingolimod or dimethyl fumarate were recruited from an online patient community and completed an online survey about treatment side effects, discontinuation, and satisfaction. RESULTS: 281 patients in four groups completed the survey: currently receiving fingolimod (CF, N = 61), currently receiving dimethyl fumarate (CDMF, N = 129), discontinued fingolimod (DF, N = 32) and discontinued dimethyl fumarate (DDMF, N = 59). Reasons for treatment switch were to take oral treatment (CF: 63.3 %, CDMF: 61.8 %), side effects of prior medication (CF: 67.3 %, CDMF: 44.1 %) and lack of effectiveness of prior medication (CF: 38.8 %, CDMF: 31.4 %). Main reasons for discontinuation were side effects (DF: 46.9 %, DDMF: 67.8 %) and lack of effectiveness (DF: 25.0 %, DDMF: 15.3 %). CDMF patients had an increased risk of abdominal pain, flushing, diarrhea, and nausea. Treatment satisfaction was highest among CF patients followed by CDMF, DF, and then DDMF patients. CONCLUSIONS: Discontinuation was driven by experience of side effects. Patients currently taking dimethyl fumarate were more likely to experience a side effect versus patients currently taking fingolimod. Examination of the relationship between tolerability and adherence/persistence is needed.