Therapeutic drug monitoring-based dosing of TNF inhibitors in inflammatory bowel disease: the way forward?

Introduction: Secondary loss of response to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) therapy remains a challenge in the clinical management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. A frequently observed reason for secondary loss of response to TNF blockers is inadequate drug exposure and sub-therapeutic serum drug concentrations. Areas covered: This review presents an overview of recent research on therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM)-based dosing with anti-TNF agents in IBD. The role of reactive and proactive TDM and different approaches on how to optimize anti-TNF treatment are discussed. Expert opinion: Due to variations within and between patients, the ‘one size fits all’ theory does not apply to all IBD patients receiving anti-TNF agents. Timing of TDM (i.e. reactive versus proactive) is a matter of debate. Both strategies might optimize anti-TNF treatment, although most trials did not show a clinical benefit compared to conventional dosing up to now. So-called dashboard systems might have an additive value in the optimization of anti-TNF treatment, since these tools enable clinicians to really personalize anti-TNF treatment.