Trajectories of disease courses in the inception cohort of newly diagnosed patients with JIA (ICON-JIA): the potential of serum biomarkers at baseline

OBJECTIVE: Juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) is a heterogeneous group of inflammatory joint disorders with a chronic-remitting disease course. Treat-to-target approaches have been proposed but monitoring disease activity and predicting the response to treatment remains challenging. METHODS: We analyzed biomarkers and their relationship to outcome within the first year after JIA diagnosis in the German Inception Cohort of Newly diagnosed patients with JIA (ICON-JIA). CRP, CXCL9, CXCL10, CXCL11, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, G-CSF, IL-6, IL-17A, IL-18, MCP-1, MIP-1α, MMP-3, S100A8/A9, S100A12, TNFα, and TWEAK were measured at baseline and 3 months later. RESULTS: Two-hundred-sixty-six JIA patients with active disease at baseline were included, with oligoarthritis and rheumatoid factor-negative polyarthritis representing the most frequent categories (72.9%). Most biomarkers were elevated in JIA compared to healthy pediatric controls. Patients with systemic JIA had higher CRP, S100A8/A9 and S100A12 levels compared to other JIA categories. Baseline levels of TWEAK, G-CSF and IL-18 were lower in oligoarthritis patients with disease extension within 1 year. Increased baseline levels of CRP, S100A8/A9, S100A12 and ESR were associated with the subsequent addition of biologic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Higher baseline ESR, G-CSF, IL-6, IL-17A and TNF levels indicated an increased risk for ongoing disease activity after 12 months. CONCLUSION: Our data demonstrate that elevated baseline levels of CRP, S100A8/A9 and S100A12 as well as increased ESR are associated with the necessity to escalate therapy during the first 12 month of follow-up. Furthermore, biomarkers related to Th17 activation may inform on future disease course in previously treatment-naïve JIA patients. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12969-021-00553-x.