James Stein, MD, professor, Cardiovascular Medicine and Robert Turell Professor of Cardiovascular Research, provided insight in a story about the CANTOS trial, which stands for Canakinumab Anti-Inflammatory Thrombosis Outcomes Study. 

The study randomized over 10,000 patients who had previously experienced a myocardial infarction (MI) and had elevated levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), which is a marker of inflammation. 

Patients received either placebo or three different levels of canakinumab, a monoclonal antibody that targets interleukin-1beta. After a median follow-up period of 3.7 years, all three groups receiving medication experienced numerical reductions in nonfatal MI, nonfatal stroke, or death related to cardiovascular disease, although only the mid-range dosage level resulted in statistical significance. 

"This is an important paper that does what the authors proclaim: it shows for the first time that a drug that specifically targets inflammation and does not alter major serum lipids can reduce CVD events," said Dr. Stein. 

While he expressed doubt that canakinumab will become a major treatment, he suggested that specific targeting of inflammation may be useful. 

Resources:

• "CANTOS Validates Role Of Inflammation In Heart Disease," CardioBrief, August 27, 2017
• Ridker PM, et al. 2017. Antiinflammatory Therapy with Canakinumab for Atherosclerotic Disease. New Eng J Med. 377(12):1119-1131