Predicting Response to Vedolizumab in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Vedolizumab is known to be safe, well-tolerated, and effective. However, as personalization becomes an increasingly important aspect of IBD care and in lieu of guidelines to inform clinicians on positioning of biologics, there is a need to reliably predict response to inform patient preferences and shared decision-making. Recent data from clinical trials and real-world evidence have elucidated predictors of clinical and endoscopic response while providing the framework to establish predictive models. Current models are able to predict that those patients with less severe disease, without prior biologic exposure and who demonstrate early response to VDZ have the highest rates of durable clinical and endoscopic response and remission. When incorporating these models into clinical practice, clinicians will be able to identify those patients who are likely to respond before drug initiation as well as early non-responders and response latency after initiation of vedolizumab. In a shift toward personalization of medicine in IBD, the ability of predictive models for vedolizumab to aid pre-biologic and early management will inform both clinician and patient. Ideally this will provide both a personalized and more cost-effective approach, though further studies in cost-analysis in this framework are needed. Though current models are comprehensive of existing data, future research on microbial and translational biomarkers will be additive and necessary to provide full personalization of treatment.